Pensieve
by e.demitria
Summary: After Snape's death, Harry discovers he has left him the Pensieve—and when he explores the memories inside, he realizes that the Pensieve once belonged to James. Ch. 15: Remus fears his friends will discover his dangerous secret, and desert him forever.
1. Prologue

"Potter," said the low, but carrying voice of Kingsley Shacklebolt from the door of Harry Potter's office. He knocked on the nameplate on the door that read, "Harry Potter" though it was already slightly ajar.

"Yes, sir, come in," said Harry from his desk, where he was examining a map with colored pins stuck in different countries in correspondence to the final Death Eaters that needed to be rounded up. Though his eighteenth birthday had barely passed a week ago, Harry had risen through the ranks of the Auror office at the Ministry with astounding speed. He supposed the final defeat of Lord Voldemort looked rather impressive on his resume. He tore his attention from the map as the Minister of Magic entered his office, carrying with him a scroll and a basin which Harry quickly recognized as Dumbledore's Pensieve. Though puzzled, Harry decided to hold his questions and allow Kingsley to explain.

"Do you have a moment?" Kingsley asked Harry, who nodded, gesturing for Kingsley to sit in the chair opposite him. Kingsley sat, and put the scroll and the Pensieve on Harry's desk, obscuring the map.

"Yeah, what's up?"

"I need to discuss with you the last will and testament of Severus Snape."

Though it had been nearly a year since the Battle of Hogwarts and more than two since the night Dumbledore died, Harry's stomach plummeted a few feet.

"Wasn't that released a year ago?" said Harry, recalling Hermione once mentioning that the Ministry could only hold wills for a month before they were released to those who were left items.

"Yes," said Kingsley, "but as Severus Snape is, in an understatement, a bit of a sore spot, I opted to hold the will for a little longer—to present to you when you were ready."

"You mean, Snape's left me something?" Harry was surprised. What did Snape own that he would want to give to Harry? And what did Snape own that Harry would _want_? Kingsley nodded. "Is it a detention?" asked Harry sarcastically, but Kingsley shook his head, remaining quite serious as he unfurled the scroll in his hand and read aloud:

"_For Harry James Potter, the Pensieve, because he has earned the right to know the whole story."_

Kingsley looked back up at Harry.

"The Pensieve?" Harry repeated. "But…that's not his. This is Dumbledore's."

"Correct," said Kingsley, "this _was_ Dumbledore's. However, Dumbledore left the Pensieve in Snape's possession after his death, so Snape is perfectly entitled to give it to you."

Harry re-read the parchment. _He has earned the right to know the whole story…_hasn't he seen that story on the night of the Battle, after Snape's murder?

"Oh," Harry replied, unsure of how he felt about this new development. "Er…thanks." Kingsley gave a curt nod and excused himself, leaving Harry alone with the basin and its mysterious, swirly, silvery contents.

"He left you the _what_?" Ron exclaimed when Harry met him after work in the atrium. Harry had explained the strange visit from Kingsley in line for the Floo fireplaces. Ron, too, had come to work as an Auror at the Ministry, while Hermione was finishing her final year at Hogwarts.

"I know, that's what I thought," Harry told him.

"But…can he do that? Wasn't the Pensieve Dumbledore's?"

"Yeah, but apparently Dumbledore left it to Snape when he died, so it's Snape's now."

"But why would Snape give it to you?" asked Ron. "I mean, it's cool and all, but let's face it, he hated you."

"His will said he wanted me to know the 'whole story,' whatever that is," Harry shrugged.

"That's weird, mate," said Ron as they reached the Floo fireplaces. "If you ask me, that man was completely off his rocker…no

Harry stepped in, holding the Pensieve tightly and feeling the familiar spinning as he flew through the fireplace, landing once again in his apartment in London.

Harry placed the Pensieve on his kitchen table and stared at it. What could the whole story possibly be referring to? He wracked his brains, but no unfinished business between himself and Snape surfaced. Harry waved his wand over the Pensieve, and to his surprise, the ghostly figures of his mother, father, godfather, Lupin, Peter, and two women he didn't know rose out and began to speak to each other in loud voices. Snape was nowhere to be seen. His stomach gave a jolt. If he wasn't very much mistaken, Snape's memories were not the only memories stored at that moment. Perhaps…no, Harry didn't dare believe it…but all the same, was it possible that the Pensieve had once been in the possession of his father?

So, abandoning all speculation, Harry plunged his head into the Pensieve and felt himself slipping into the memories of his father.

**A/N: **Yeah, this was short—probably the shortest chapter, but anyways, what do you think? Where is Harry going to end up? What is the "whole story?" (come on, guys, that one's easy!) What did you love? What did you hate? What _else _did you love??

-Dem


	2. Chapter One: Fireworks and Spitballs

**Chapter One:** Fireworks and Spitballs

The shouts of children and animals seemed were muffled by the walls of the Hogwarts Express, but Harry knew that outside, on Platform 9 ¾, it was very loud. Judging by the amount of luggage and crying parents, this was the first day of new term. Harry looked around at the compartment he was sitting in. Sitting opposite him was a red-haired, puffy-eyed girl, and a skinny, greasy boy who Harry recognized immediately.

"So what?" Snape was saying to her.

"So she's my sister!" Lily snapped back.

"She's only a—" but Snape did not finish his thought. Instead, he changed tack. "But we're going! This is it! We're off to Hogwarts!"

Harry was confused. He had been here before, seen this memory before. Snape had given it to him just before he died. Had something changed? Perhaps Snape, a more skilled Occlumens than Slughorn, had managed to modify the memory without botching it completely? Harry watched as James and Snape got into their first argument, and both him and his mother left the room, looks of disgust on their faces. Harry made to leave with them, feeling slightly let down, but some invisible force prevented him from following Lily and Snape down the hall. He tried to walk again, but he could not get through the invisible barrier. For a long minute, Harry pondered why he could not follow, but then it struck him that this may not be Snape's memory at all.

He re-entered the compartment with his heart pounding, terrified that he would hit another invisible barrier preventing him from getting into his dad's compartment, but to his excitement, he was able to sit down again, and listen to James and Sirius discussing Quidditch.

"—Cleansweep Three, it just came out," James was saying, gesturing to the luggage rack. "It has brilliant acceleration, way faster than the Shooting Star." Sirius stared at James in envy.

"I know," he said ruefully, "my mum bought one for my brother."

"Does he go to Hogwarts?"

"Nah, he's ten," he told him. "Mum buys him whatever he wants, though. Its like she's half in love with him or something—its almost indecent." James laughed hesitantly, and Harry got the sense that his father did not know whether Sirius was joking or not. The door slid open again, and a peaky, brown-haired boy entered the compartment. Harry thought he knew who this was—eleven-year-old Remus Lupin. His hair was combed, his shirt was clean, and his jeans new, but despite this appearance of wellness, Harry thought he could see even now the faint, dark circles under his eyes.

"Mind if I sit?" he asked, gesturing to the seat Lily had vacated earlier. James gave him a once-over and nodded. "Remus Lupin," he introduced himself.

"James Potter."

"Sirius Black."

Remus nodded and stowed his trunk in the luggage rack, but not before pulling out a book and settling himself across from James. James turned back to Sirius.

"So that Snivellus is a right git, isn't he?" James said. "I reckon we'd better put him in his place." Sirius looked interested.

"And what do you have in mind, Potter?"

James reached into the luggage rack and rummaged through his trunk, eventually pulling out a package of Dr. Filibuster's Wet-Start, No-Heat fireworks. Remus glanced up from his book, but did not say anything.

"I like the way you think," Sirius smirked.

The memory dissolved, and Harry found himself crammed into a boat with James, Sirius, Remus, and a timid-looking, round-faced girl Harry did not think he had ever spoken to, but thought he may have seen once or twice before. Night had fallen, and the waning moon was reflected in the water of the black lake.

"Ready?" James said excitedly, and Sirius nodded. He pulled several fireworks from the inside of his school robes, checked over his shoulder to see that no one was paying any attention, and lobbed the fireworks into the water behind the boat Snape and Lily were sharing with a small, tubby blonde boy.

There was a _wiz_, and the fireworks ignited, glowing red, orange, and yellow in the black water. Snape looked around, alarmed, and then the fireworks began to shoot out of the water with such force the boat capsized. Lily, Snape, and the chubby boy were thrown into the ice-cold water, while James, Sirius, and several other students laughed uproariously.

"Oi!" Hagrid's boat was speeding towards the place the three children had fallen in the lake. He grabbed each by the neck of their robes and placed them back into their scorched, but otherwise unharmed boat. "Wha' were you thinkin', playin' with fireworks in a boat?" Hagrid demanded.

"W-w-we weren't!" Lily insisted through chattering teeth. "H-honest, M-mr. Hagrid…"

"I-it was them!" said Snape dramatically, pointing to Sirius and James. The boats had reached shore and everyone clamored out of them. Hagrid looked at the two boys, who were trying to appear as innocent as possible.  
"Did ya throw those fireworks?" Hagrid demanded, but both boys shook their heads.

"No, we were too far to throw them," said James.

"H-he's lying!" Snape hissed angrily, but Hagrid did not press James or Sirius any further.

"Let's git ya inside and dried up, an' after yer Sorted we can work this ou'," said Hagrid diplomatically, and he led them into the entrance hall. Harry saw James and Sirius exchange triumphant smirks. As Professor McGonagall spoke to the first years, Lily, who had been jostled away from Snape and forced between James and another girl, hissed in James' ear, "You're awful, you know that? Sev can't swim. That wasn't funny. You could have really hurt someone."

"Innocent until proven guilty," James whispered smugly out of the corner of his mouth.

"'Innocent?' I doubt you've ever been innocent a day in your life, you stupid spoiled brat," Lily hissed dangerously.

"Kinky," said James with a smirk, and Sirius laughed under his breath. Lily looked furious.

"You stay away from me," Lily told him darkly, "and stay away from Sev. Or else."

The doors to the Great Hall swung open, and the first years filed in.

The memory changed again. This time, Harry found himself in the Gryffindor boys' dormitory—the same dormitory, he realized with a jolt, that he had occupied during his unfinished schooling at Hogwarts. It looked relatively the same, though without Dean Thomas's posters of the West Ham football club, and the scarlet hangings on the four-poster beds were in better condition than Harry had ever seen them.

"Um, next time you decide to pull something on Evans and Snape can I please not be a part of it?" Harry recognized Peter Pettigrew immediately, with his beady, water eyes, wispy hair, and pudgy fingers. He was dry now, wearing pinstriped pajamas that were far too small for him. His voice was squeakier than Harry remembered it, and far more annoying.

"Sorry, Pete," James laughed. "Just trying to put some filthy Slytherins in their place."

Remus was already changed and in his own four-poster between Sirius' and Peter's, and was reading the same book he had been pursuing on the train.

"Speaking of filthy Slytherins," Sirius said, pulling off his shirt. "My parents are going to shit a chicken when they find out I'm in Gryffindor."

"Why would they do that?" asked Peter.

"Because whole blazing lot of them have been in Slytherin!" said Sirius. "They're all about pureblood dominance—it's really annoying to listen to all the time, and my idiot of a brother just laps it up…I swear to God he's going to die from lack of brains." Peter laughed loudly, and Remus cracked a smile, but still did not look up.

"I'm pureblood, too," Peter piped up.

"Same here," James nodded.

"Are _your_ parents a pair of nut job, blood-obsessed crazies?" asked Sirius bitterly.

"Nah, they're alright," said James. "That's rough, mate. You're okay, though."

"Glad you approve."

"What about you…uh…" James trailed off.

"Remus," Lupin reminded him, not looking up from his book. "I'm half."

"What're you reading?" asked Sirius, taking Remus' book from him and reading the title. "'_New Theory of Numerology?_ Gross! Bilmey, that wasn't even on the booklist!" he tossed the book back at Remus as though it might burn him, who shrugged and picked it back up.

"It's interesting," he said simply.

"You must be one of those weirdo genius kids," James concluded.

"No, I just like to read."

James and Sirius balked at him.

"For _fun_?" Sirius said.

"No, I read because it makes me miserable."

James and Sirius laughed, and unless Harry was very much mistaken, he was witnessing the formation of the Marauders.

The memory changed again. This time, Harry found himself in McGonagall's classroom. James, Sirius, Peter, and Remus made up the back row. James and Sirius were talking in low voices and laughing quietly, while Peter tried to act like he was in on the joke. Remus, on the other hand, was paying attention.

"An animagus is a person who may take on the form of an animal at will," Lily was saying from her seat directly in front of James, clearly answering a question.

"Very good, Ms. Evans, ten points to Gryffindor."

James coughed loudly, and Harry thought he caught the words, "_Suck up_." Lily turned around and glared.

"That's enough, Mr. Potter," McGonagall told him, and Lily looked satisfied.

Harry bent closer to James and Sirius to hear their conversation.

"—today, after Potions," James whispered. Sirius nodded.

"I'll nick the seeds over lunch," said Sirius.

"Good, and then we'll—"

"SHH!" Lily had turned around again in her seat. "Pay attention!"

"Ms. Evans!" barked McGonagall, and Lily jumped. "Do you have something you with to share with the rest of the class?"

"No, ma'am," she said quietly, glaring at her desk while James and Sirius laughed silently.

James scrawled a few barely legible words onto a spare bit of parchment ("Are you in?"), balled it up, and tossed it at Remus while McGonagall was writing on the blackboard. It hit him on the head, and he picked it up, unwrapping it and reading it under his desk. He wrote a few words on the parchment, balled it up, and tossed it at Sirius. Harry read the note over Sirius' shoulder: _I don't have a choice, do I? _

Sirius put the parchment back in his cluttered bag. James, meanwhile, was—what else?—spitting spitballs at the back of Lily's head through a straw. She was attempting to ignore the wet bits of parchment peppering the back of her chair. One hit her directly in the back of the head, hard, and she turned around.

"Stop that," she hissed furiously, picking the spitball out of her red hair and throwing it back at James, who spit another spitball at her forehead in retaliation. Lily jumped up.

"Potter!" she shouted. The class went silent, and Professor McGonagall, who had been writing notes on the chalkboard, dropped her chalk in surprise. Lily went pink.

"Ms. Evans!" McGonagall exclaimed. "Five points from Gryffindor! What is the meaning of this disruption?"

"Professor, Potter keeps spitting spitballs at me!"

McGonagall's lips formed a tight line as she strode purposefully to the back of the classroom and held out her hand.

"Now, Professor," said James, smiling endearingly, "do you _really_ want to give me detention?"

Several students giggled nervously, but McGonagall was not amused. The smile slid off James' face and he reluctantly handed over the straw.

"Once more, and it's detention," she told him, and James nodded.

The bell rang and everyone filed out of class. Sirius was laughing uproariously.

"She's such a little princess," he said to Remus, Sirius, and Peter, just loud enough for Lily to hear. She shot him a dirty look and headed off to her next class with two of her friends.

"Merlin, it's like she has no sense of humor," James complained.

"I know, mate. Who _doesn't_ enjoy getting indirectly spat on?" said Remus sarcastically, and Peter laughed.

"Shut up, Pete," said James, annoyed, shooting Remus a dirty look and--

Suddenly, Harry felt a hand on his shoulder, and the memory dissolved. He found himself standing in his kitchen again—but it wasn't empty.

* * *

**A/N:** Ooooh! What is this? Do I smell a _cliffhanger_? Anyways, I was shocked at how many people reviewed/read this! 7 reviews and 12 author alerts in 24 hours! You guys rock! So I decided to put this up early. I have exams this week, though, so their might not be another update until Thursday, but I promise there will be a nice, long chapter out by the end of the week. Please review, I really appreciate it. And feel free to tell me what's wrong with this, I want to write the best story possible (a LOT of you complained about how short the last chapter was...I know, I'm sorry, my chapters are all going to be much longer).

-Dem


	3. Chapter Two: Quidditch and Howlers

Chapter Two: Quidditch and Howlers

The tall, red-haired gangly form of Ron Weasley was standing in front of Harry, hand still on his shoulder.

"What are you _doing_?"

"How did you get in here?" Harry demanded, his tone a little harsher than it would normally have been. He was annoyed at being interrupted, at being torn away from his parents' memories.

"Your door was unlocked," shrugged Ron. "I was knocking for about five minutes, so I just let myself in."

"Oh," said Harry, very much wanting to tell Ron to get out.

"So did you find out what mad thing Snape wanted you to know?" asked Ron conversationally, Summoning a cup from Harry's cupboard and filling it with water. Harry suppressed a sigh and shrugged. "I can't believe you have Snape's _memories_," Ron continued. "How mad is that? You get a free pass into Snape's _head_. What kind of freaky stuff is in there?" Ron looked eager, though shuddered a little. Harry had told Ron and Hermione—and later the rest of the world—that Snape was innocent, no, a hero, and had been a double agent for eighteen years, but he had not told them exactly why Snape had switched sides. When asked why Dumbledore knew Snape was on his side by Hermione, Harry had evaded the question, and she did not press him.

He had no reason for not telling the whole story except that it was creepy. The fact that Snape had been hopelessly in love with Harry's deceased mother all his life bothered him. It even crossed his mind once or twice that if Snape had not called Lily a Mudblood that day in their fifth year, there was a definite possibility that Snape would have been Harry's father. The very thought made Harry cringe. Apart from that, however, Harry reminded himself, he doubted Snape would appreciate the entire wizarding world knowing that he spent his entire life pining for James Potter's wife.

"Nothing special," Harry lied. He felt instantly guilty for lying to Ron, but these memories were so personal he did not feel comfortable telling Ron what he was seeing. Even more, he did not want Ron pressing him for details. Harry had known for years that his father had been a typical, arrogant teenager, but that didn't make watching it any easier. His eleven-year-old father was a spoiled, bratty bully and reminded him unpleasantly of Draco Malfoy. The way he targeted Snape and Lily and thought so highly of himself…he was just _annoying_. But at the same time, he was his father. Watching his dead father, dead mother, dead godfather, and two dead, ex-professors could hardly be called uninteresting. It was riveting, and Harry couldn't get enough. He was finally getting what he had always wanted—to know his parents, and what better way than to watch their lives through their eyes?

"Oh." Ron looked let down, as though he was expecting a detailed account of Snape eating dead babies for dinner.

"Don't you have that report to finish for the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes?" Harry reminded Ron, who appeared to have forgotten.

"Blimey, I do!" He put his cup on the table, looking harried, and dissapparated.

Harry turned back to the Pensieve and plunged back into his parent's memories without pretense.

Harry re-materialized on the Quidditch pitch. About twenty Gryffindor hopefuls, James among them, were standing in a clump in front of a group of four students, who Harry assumed were the returning members of the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

"Thanks for turning out, everyone," said a tall, dark-haired member of the Quidditch team. "As many of you know, I'm Jordana Lester, your Seeker, and this year McGonagall made me Captain, so I'll be leading tryouts today. Today we need to find two new Chasers and a Beater, so I want all the Chasers on this side by Prewett—" she gestured towards a curly-haired fourth year, "and all the Beaters over here with Reilly." She gestured towards a burly sixth year.

James joined the slightly larger group with Prewett. Jordana Lester divided them into groups of three, and had them fly up with the Quaffle and try to score.

The first three were dreadful, and one of the second three couldn't even get off the ground. James was in the third group, smirking to himself. Harry got the impression that James could fly circles around these kids.

James and his group kicked off, and he passed the Quaffle to a boy on his left, who passed it to the other girl, who dropped it. James swooped down and caught the Quaffle, speeding back up in front of the goalposts and scoring on the Keeper, who didn't register what had happened for a few seconds. Harry looked at the other hopefuls, who looked furious—none of them had scored. Jordana Lester looked impressed.

Sirius, Peter, and Remus were up in the stands. Sirius was jumping up and down, singing a song Harry strongly suspected he had made up himself:

_"If you're looking for a Chaser, Potter is your guy! He is so incredible—just watch him fly! He puts the Quaffle through the hoop, and for breakfast he eats Fruit Loops, and he's really, really good so if you let him on your team will be really , really good—" _

"Did you just rhyme, 'really, really good' with 'really, really good?'" asked Remus, who was watching Sirius warily as though not sure whether to call him an idiot or deny his existence entirely. "And how did you know what a Fruit Loop was?"

James started showing off—passing the Quaffle backwards, doing tricks on his broom...many of the students were impressed, but a good portion of them looked like they wanted to throw rocks at him. Harry didn't blame them—it was getting on his nerves, too.

Jordana seemed to be getting annoyed as well, for she blew her whistle and the entire team touched down. She announced that the results of Quidditch tryouts would be posted in the Common Room the next day. James nodded, smiling to himself, and met up with Sirius at the edge of the pitch. Remus and Peter were walking a hundred yards ahead of them, trying to put distance between themselves and Sirius.

"Did you see that prat, Stebbins?" Sirius laughed.

"No, what'd he do?"

"Hit Reilly in the face with his bat!" Sirius said, and James laughed along with him.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Potty and Black," said a snide voice from behind the boys. Both jumped around to see Severus Snape leering at them.

"I'd hardly talk, _Snivellus_," said Sirius.

"Oh, so quick to defend your boyfriend—nice love song, by the way. Really romantic—"

"At least I'm getting some," Sirius snapped back. Snape opened his mouth, but also seemed to realize that Sirius had a point, and changed tack.

"I was watching your tryout, Potter," sneered Snape. "Was that supposed to be Quidditch or synchronized swimming? The way you were twirling and diving—"

"'Twirling?' 'Diving?'" said James incredulously. "It's called being agile."

"Well, whatever it's called, it _looks _ridiculous."

James drew his wand, but Snape did not wince.

"What are you going to do, shoot sparks at me?" said Snape tauntingly, and James seemed to re-think this dramatic gesture. He hesitated, and Snape laughed. "Thought so. Bet you're wishing for brains now that brawn's no use—"

But Snape was forced to eat his words as James jumped on him as Sirius egged them on. There was a loud _bang_ and the boys were blasted apart, Snape wiping a trail of blood from his nose and James rubbing his arm.

"Twenty points from Gryffindor," drawled another familiar voice. Harry recognized the pointed face and white-blonde hair instantly—fifteen-year-old Lucius Malfoy, a prefects badge gleaming on his chest, was smirking at the boys. He helped Snape to his feet. "Attacking a defenseless boy…Gryffindor bravery or stupidity, I ask you…"

"I am not defenseless!" Snape snarled, wrenching his arm from Lucius Malfoy's grip.

"That's not on!" Sirius yelled back. "Snivellus started it!"

"Sinvellus?" the corners of Lucius Malfoy's mouth twitched. "I'll take another five for that _amusing_ nickname. Anything else you want to add?"

Harry expected James and Sirius to retort back, but they didn't seem willing to lose more points for their House, so both kept quiet.

"Come along, Severus," said Malfoy, leading Snape away.

"You'd better hope someone bigger isn't around to protect you next time!" James shouted after them. "Slytherins…they're prats, all of them," he grumbled…

The memory changed and this time, Harry appeared in the Great Hall, sitting on

the wooden bench next to Lupin, across from his father and Sirius. They were discussing the events that had occurred after the Quidditch tryout the previous evening.

"You got into a fistfight with Snape?" repeated Remus.

"Yeah, and I was winning before that prat of a prefect got in my way," James grumbled angrily, stabbing his sausages with more force than was necessary.

"There are better ways to get at Snape without punching him," said Remus.

"He started it!" James said indignantly.

"I know he did, but you can't just go around—"

"Potter!" yelled a girl.

"Here we go," sighed James, turning in his seat to face Lily, who was marching down the hall to yell at him. She poked his chest with a finger.

"I thought I told you to leave Sev alone!"

"I wish you'd leave _me_ alone," James muttered.

"You can't go around punching people just because they make you mad—"

"He was having a go at me!" James said defensively. "The slimy git was asking for it—"

"You could have just told a teacher! But no, you had to be all _tough_ and _manly_ and now you've gotten points taken away! You could have hurt him!"

"Does your boyfriend know you're over here fighting his battles?" James shot back.

"I'm not fighting—he's _not_ my boyfriend."

"Sure _sounds _like he is," sneered James, and Harry was pretty sure that he had won this one. His suspicion was confirmed when Sirius began shouting, "_Evans and Snivellus sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G! _Inter-House fornication!"

"I—you—_there is no fornication!_" Lily snarled, and stalked off. Sirius, James, Peter, and several other onlookers were laughing. Even Remus was doing his best to hide smirk.

Just then, owls swooped down from the ceiling bearing the school's daily mail. A barn owl dropped a letter on James's eggs, and other bore a package for Peter, but it was Sirius's mail that attracted the most attention. It was a bright red envelope that was smoking slightly at the edged. Harry recognized it instantly.

"Oh, no," Sirius groaned. He picked it up to read who it was from (as if he didn't know) and it hissed ominously.

"Yep, that's a Howler," said James.

"You'd best open it now," Remus advised, "or else it'll explode."

Sirius nodded, and looking slightly green, pried open the envelope, and dropping it instantly, for fear of getting burnt.

"_SIRIUS BLACK!" _wailed an all-too familiar voice. Harry winced along with Sirius as the entire student body jumped, and then hall went silent, staring at the Gryffindor table. Mrs. Black's voice was not one Harry had heard in three years, but the memory came back vividly as though it were yesterday. "_YOU FILTHY, BLOOD-TRAITING, USELESS EXCUSE FOR A SON! HOW DARE YOU GET YOURSELF SORTED INTO GRYFFINDOR! BREAK YOUR MOTHER'S HEART ALL OVER AGAIN! YOU WILL DO ANYTHING TO DEFY ME, WON'T YOU, YOU REVOLTING BOY! AND IF YOU THINK I'M ANGRY, YOU SHOULD HEAR YOUR FATHER, HE'S ABSOLUTELY LIVID. HE HAS BEEN COMPLETELY HUMILIATED, THE LAUGHING STOCK OF THE PUREBLOOD WIZARDING COMMUNITY! I HOPE YOU'RE HAPPY! EVERY BLACK FOR SEVEN GENERATIONS HAS BEEN IN SLYTHERIN, BUT SLYTHERIN ISN'T GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU , NOW IS IT? BELLATRIX IS IN SLYTHERIN! NARCISSA IS IN SLYTHERIN! WE WOULD NEVER EXPECT THIS OF REGULUS, BUT YOU? WELL, LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING, SIRIUS, DON'T EVEN THINK THAT YOU'RE COMING HOME FOR THE CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS!"_

The letter crumbled into ashes, and the Great Hall was silent. Harry looked at Sirius, who was red-faced and shaking in anger. Peter had taken refuge from the Howler under the table and was just re-emerging, a bit of porridge in his hair. Lupin and James looked at each other, at a loss of what to say and avoiding Sirius's gaze.

"Well, it's over, now, isn't it?" said Sirius loudly. "So you can all stop staring at me and get on with your breakfast!"

And without another word, Sirius stalked out of the Great Hall, followed by whispers among the other House tables. Harry heard an all-too familiar shriek from the Slytherin table, and looked over to see a fourteen-year-old Bellatrix Lestrange, who had apparently found this Howler hilarious.

Noise level turned to normal in the Great Hall, but Remus, James, and Peter remained silent, staring at the food on their plates.

**A/N: **Hey, guys, this is up early again! Wow, all your reviews have been sooooooo nice. They definitely make my day. Keep it up . Sorry the cliffhanger wasn't _quite_ so dramatic…but whatever, I hope this chapter made up for it!

-Dem


	4. Chapter Three: Love and Chocolate

**Chapter Three: Love and Chocolate**

James had just entered the boys' dormitory.

"Where's Sirius?" asked Remus immediately, who was sitting on his bed, without a book in his hands for once. James shrugged.

"Dunno."

"'Dunno?' We thought he was with you!"

"Relax, I'm sure he's fine—"

"It's not him I'm worried about—it's whoever he's decided to try and hex I'm worried about," Remus said. "Although a run-in with that awful cousin of his could not do anybody any good. You know he's gonna do something stupid, if he hasn't already. He's been missing for two days! I can't _believe_ he skipped a whole day of classes—it's only the fourth day!"

"Is he in the common room?" asked Peter, and James shook his head.

"Why aren't the teachers looking for him?"

"They are, but they haven't found him yet. You need to find him," Remus told James.

"Calm down, what are you, some kind of girl?" James said, annoyed. "Sirius can take care of himself…he's probably in the library or something."

"Yeah, right," snorted Remus, "he was telling me a few days ago that he was allergic to reading."

"Detention, then?" James offered.

"While that would be far more likely, why would he show up for detention but not for class?"

"That's probably _how_ he got detention."

"James, find him!" Remus ordered. "You are his bloody best mate, and he's upset—"

"He _obviously_ doesn't want to talk about it," James pointed out, "seeing as he's completely avoiding everybody, in case you haven't noticed."

"You don't _have _to talk about it, just bring him back here!" said Remus. "It's almost eleven."

"Even if I manage to find him, how do you propose I get him back here?" James retorted.

"I dunno, figure it out! Bribe him with a dung bomb or something—he can't seem to get enough of those, can he?"

James looked as though this was a fair point, but still didn't seem too keen on the idea of finding Sirius.

"He'll come back when he wants."

"He doesn't know what he wants, he's eleven!"

"Last time I checked, you were the same age," James countered. "If you want him back here so much, _you _go get him."

"You're his best mate!"

"Yeah, but _you_ actually give a crap!"

"I can't believe you," said Remus, shaking his head. "Go find Sirius. It's not like you have anything better to do. Throw a Fanged Frisbee into the teachers' lounge to spice things up if you want, just go find Sirius."

"Fine, fine, I'm going," said James, pulling on a cloak. The memory dissolved

It was dark, and Harry was outside, getting rained on profusely—or, at least, he would have been had be been solid. Ahead of him, James was walking, hands in his pockets, in the direction of the Quidditch pitch. Harry followed him down to the pitch and then up the steps to the stands, which were covered. James shook out his hair like a dog to remove the rain, and made his way to a dark-haired boy sitting in the back row.

"Hey, mate," he said, and the boy jumped.

"Oh, it's you," he grunted back.

"Remus made me go look for you," James explained. "He was getting worried, says you shouldn't have skipped class today…" when Sirius said nothing, James cleared his throat somewhat awkwardly. "Where've you been?"

"Here," said Sirius unhelpfully.

"Right." James opened his mouth, and then closed it, as though thinking better of the words he was about to say. After a minute, he spoke again. "Your mum was way out of order, mate."

"I know it."

It appeared that James had nothing else to say. He stood awkwardly next to Sirius, his hands in his pockets again, while Sirius glared at nothing.

"You know what would make you feel better?" asked James.

"I'm not upset," Sirius told him darkly.

"Did I say you were?" said James, but he didn't wait for a reply. "Look, just show up for Transfiguration, okay? It'll be worth it."

Sirius grunted a response that could have been either 'yes' or 'no.' James nodded. "You coming back up?" he asked.

"Later."

James nodded, and looked like he was going to say something more again, but didn't, and walked back up to the castle.

The memory dissolved, and the Transfiguration classroom materialized again. The Gryffindors and Slytherins were all focused on McGonagall's lecture on the transfiguration of inanimate objects—with, of course, the obvious exception of James Potter and Sirius Black. James was scrawling a note on spare parchment again. He balled it up, checked to see if McGonagall was looking, and tossed it at Snape, sitting a few rows in front of him. The parchment landed on Snape's desk, directly in front of him.

Snape looked around to glare at James, but James was pretending to take notes. Snape made a noise between a hiss and a growl and unfolded the note. Harry glided through the desks to read over Snape's shoulder in his father's horrible handwriting: _Sorry for setting fireworks on you in the lake._ Harry was now both confused and uneasy. To his (limited) knowledge, James and never apologized to Snape. Ever. This could not mean anything good.

Snape, too, seemed to find this suspicious, so he slid the note to Lily sitting beside him for approval. Lily read it and rolled her eyes. Snape scratched something on the parchment and tossed it back to James. Harry read over James's shoulder: _Eat dung, Potter. And you too, Black, because you most likely have something to do with whatever he's planning._ James smirked at it and showed it to Sirius, and pulled out, of all things, a chocolate frog. He wrote another note on the parchment and threw both at Snape.

_I mean it_, said the note. _Here is a chocolate frog as a token of my apology_. Snape threw the frog back at James. _What have you done to it?_ He asked in the note.

_Nothing_, James replied, and while Snape was still looking at him, he broke off a piece of frog and put it in his own mouth, tossing the rest to Snape. Snape turned around, and Harry saw James spit the chocolate out into his hand.

Nothing happened for a few moments. James innocently took notes, a smirk on his face, and Snape eyed the frog warily, as though deciding whether or not to eat it. Then, after what seemed like an hour, but was actually only a few minutes, Snape unwrapped the rest of the frog, and ate it.

"Sev, don't—" warned Lily quietly, but he had already swallowed. James looked up, his smirk broadening. He turned to Sirius, sitting to his left.

"Watch this," he said, smirking.

A sudden change was coming over Snape. While he had been paying attention to Professor McGonagall before, he now seemed to be positively enraptured by her very presence. His eyes were glazed over and a loopy smile covered Snape's greasy face. Harry snorted; he had never seen him look so stupid. It was rather similar to the sloppy look that Fleur would often give to Bill Weasley.

"The most important thing to remember is to always—Mr. Snape, are you paying attention?" Professor McGonagall stopped in front of Snape and rapped his desk twice with her wand, looking stern.

"Yes," he said dreamily, and the class stared at him, and Harry knew why: he had _never_ heard Snape speak in this tone before. Harry looked back at James, who was trying not to laugh. "Excuse me, Professor, I just can't help but be blinded by your beauty."

The whole class stifled laughs. McGonagall's lips formed a tight line, and Lily mouthed, _"What are you doing?" _at him. Snape continued to stare, slack jawed, at McGonagall.

"Five points from Slytherin," she said tersely. "As I was saying—"

"But Professor," Snape interrupted, and Lily gaped at him again, "how can you fault me for being intensely aware of your loveliness? How can I take notes while looking at the most beautiful woman I have ever seen in my life? How can you punish me for emotions I cannot control—"

"Mr. Snape, I strongly suggest you stop talking this _very_ instant," McGonagall said murderously. "You will talk to me after class and you will not disrupt this lesson again."

"But I can't wait until after class!" Snape exclaimed. "I want to talk to you _now_!"

Lily was looking from the chocolate frog to Snape, and something clicked in her head. She turned around and glared at James, who was watching this whole exchange as though it was

"Mr. Snape—"

"Professor, just because our love is forbidden doesn't mean it can never be!" Snape said dramatically. "I know you will have many qualms about such a relationship, but dismiss them, immediately! I know you love me—don't deny it! I often catch you staring at me, and even now, you are blushing, embarrassed by the sexual tension brought on by my presence!" Harry looked at McGonagall, whose face was indeed extremely red, but Harry strongly suspected that this was out of fury than love for Snape. "I assure you, despite my age, I am a very satisfying lover—"

By now the entire class had completely lost it, including Harry. Even Lily was trying to hide a smile while silently demanding that James tell her what he had done. McGonagall was not amused.

"Silence," she said darkly, and everybody quieted down without having to be asked twice. "Mr. Snape, I am giving you a weeks worth of detention for this disrespectful behavi—what is this?" she picked up the chocolate frog wrapper.

"'Disrespectful behavior?'" said Snape incredulously, who appeared not to have heard her question. "I have _nothing_ but respect for you, my love—"

"Ms. Evans, where did he get this?" McGonagall cut across Snape and turned to Lily.

"Potter gave it to him," she said, and now she was the one smirking. McGonagall crossed the classroom to where James was sitting.

"What did you do to this frog, Potter?" McGonagall hissed.

"Nothing, Professor," said James innocently.

"Do not lie to me, Potter," she said, sounding angrier than Harry had ever heard her. "Did you or did you not put a love potion in that chocolate frog?" The whole class was staring at James, with the exception of Snape, who was reciting a poem he had made up on the spot about McGonagall: "Minerva, my love, you brighten my day! Your smile is rare, but if I may, when I look at you I can not help but say, you're wonderful!"

"He seems fine to me," James shrugged. McGonagall stared at James, and James stared back, his face in a perfectly manufactured look of puzzled questioning.

"Ms. Evans," said McGonagall, not taking her eyes off of James. "Will you take Mr. Snape up to the infirmary?"

"Yes, Professor," said Lily, and she took Snape by the upper arm and practically dragged him out of the class. He did not go quietly; Harry heard him shout down the hallway, "Meet me at midnight at the Whomping Willow! We can run away together!"

"You will see me after class, Potter," said McGonagall, and she sounded so furious that Harry was shocked that James didn't crumble to ashes under her glare. She turned back and stalked to the front of the classroom, continuing their lesson.

"That," Remus muttered to James, "was _brilliant_."

* * *

**A/N**: Hey, guys! Sorry, this chapter's a bit on the short side, but I rather like it. I was going to post a different chapter, but I decided that it would work better later in the story, so I had to re-write this. Thank you all SO MUCH for your kind reviews. I can not tell you how awesome you all are. Please continue to review--and all you lurkers, you should review as well. I really appreciate the feedback. Remember, constructive criticism is very welcome and encouraged, just don't flame because that's just mean.

-Dem


	5. Chapter Four: Essays and Diaries

Before he knew it, Harry became immersed in the next memory. He was sitting outside by the lake on what Harry judged to be one of the final nice days of the year, with Lily and Snape, who were doing homework.

"Hey, Snivellus!" Sirius called from across the grounds. "I'll wait for you tonight at the Whomping Willow, and we can run away together!"

"Don't," said Lily warningly, in a low voice. She took Snape's wrist, and Harry saw color rising in Snape's neck immediately. "It's what he wants."

Sirius, James, Remus, and Peter laughed, making kissy faces at Snape.

"Come on, Snivellus!" taunted Sirius. "Or are you too…what was it? Oh, yeah, embarrassed by the sexual tension brought on by my presence?"

"I'll give _him_ sexual tension," said Snape through gritted teeth. Lily looked at him with raised eyebrows. "Uh…that sounded a lot more threatening in my head." Lily laughed, and Snape even cracked a smile. Harry was taken by surprise—he had never seen a genuine smile on Snape's face.

"Come on, I overheard McGonagall yelling at them. Black and Potter've got a weeks worth of detentions," said Lily, re-directing Snape's attention to their notes, which were strewn across the lawn. Snape took a look at the four Gryffindor boys, who were still laughing, and then turned back to Lily.

"Right," he said bracingly, picking up his Potions book and leafing through it. "Oh, here. So it says that in a Color-Change solution, the lacewing flies need to be added at the last possible moment to make the new color hold."

"Good," said Lily, printing this new information on a piece of parchment with impeccable handwriting. "What does it say about the pomegranate juice?"

"Let me check." Snape flipped through his textbook. "Is…uh…your sister still mad at you?"

"Yes," said Lily sadly. "I haven't heard from her at all. Well, you know how she can be. I expect she'll come around…eventually."

"She will," said Snape confidently, apparently regretting this question, for Lily now looked downcast. "You shouldn't worry about her. She's only jealous." Lily shrugged.

"I think she hates me, Sev."

"No," said Snape, looking horrified, for Lily looked like she was about to cry. "No, Lily, nobody could hate you. It's impossible."

"Potter and Black seem to be doing a pretty good job of it."

"Well, Potter and Black seem to have transcended all levels of possible idiocy," said Snape. "Who cares about them? They're stupid blasted gits."

"Fair enough," said Lily, smiling a little. "Did you find the paragraph on pomegranate juice?"

The memory dissolved again, and Harry found himself in the Gryffindor dormitories again, except there were several deliberate differences. The room was cleaner, the window was on a different wall, and it smelled a lot better. The door to the bathroom opened and a thin girl with wet, dark red hair stepped out, dressed in her pajamas.

Harry looked around. Was James here? These were _his_ memories, after all. Where was he? Harry hoped beyond hope that James hadn't hidden here to spy on the girls. He knew his father was obnoxious, but he hoped at least that James knew his boundaries. He didn't want to add "creeper" to the list of adjectives used to describe his father.

Lily sat down on her bed, and rummaged through her bedside table. Harry sat next to her. Forgetting himself for a second, he reached out to touch her shoulder, but his hand went right through her. Something inside of Harry seemed to drop a little; he had forgotten he wasn't solid. He could see each of the freckles on her face, smell the shampoo she had just washed out of her hair, and feel the heat radiating from her living body. His mother was sitting there, alive, healthy, and happy, and Harry could not touch or speak to her.

Lily had found what she was looking for—a little purple diary. She took out a quill and some ink and began to write:

17 November 1971

_Dear Diary,_

_It's been so long since I've written in you! I'm sorry, but I've just been so busy with everything! I am all settled in here at Hogwarts, now. It's everything Sev said it would be. I am taking Potions, Herbology, Transfiguration, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, History of Magic, and Astronomy. My favorite by far is Charms, although Professor Slughorn, my Potions professor, tells me I am a Potions genius. He is very kind, but I wish he wouldn't compliment me so much. It's kinda creepy. History of Magic seems like it would be interesting, but it has GOT to be the most boring thing in the whole world. It's taught by a ghost. I'll bet he died of boredom during one of his own lectures._

Harry snorted.

_I have three roommates—Alice, Marlene, and Mary, who I get on very well with. I spend a lot of time with Sev, though, but they don't understand why. Sometimes I kind of wish they'd shut up. Marlene keeps calling Sev gross and creepy. Just because he always looks like he needs a shower doesn't mean he's either of those things. He's just shy, is all. He can't talk to Alice or Mary or Marlene (I actually think he's rather afraid of Marlene). He's really nice, when you get to know him. He's so much smarter than the other boys I know. I wish I was in Slytherin with Sev so I wouldn't have to put up with the Gryffindor boys. There are four of them: Lupin, Potter, Black, and Pettigrew. _

_They are all absolutely appalling boys. They spend all their time trying to disrupt everyone and everything. They like to pull rather amusing pranks, like the time they slipped Sev a love potion that made him fall in love with McGonagall. That was just mean. I thought she was going to kill Potter. Potter is the worst—he's so snotty and spoiled and arrogant, and ever since he made the Quidditch team he's been absolutely unbearable. Just because he scored eight goals in the first game of the season doesn't mean he's anything special. _

_The worst part? Everyone thinks they're all so funny and cool. There's nothing cool or funny about being annoying. I wish they'd fall in the lake and—_

The door opened, and Lily hastily shoved her diary under her pillow just as a tall girl with straggly brown hair and glasses entered the room, tossed her bag on her bed, and said, "Hey, Lily, let me borrow your Potions essay."

"'Borrow' or 'copy?'" said Lily skeptically.

"You know me too well," she smirked, pushing her glasses a little farther up her nose. "So how about it?"

"I dunno, Marlene," said Lily uneasily, chewing on the end of her long red hair. "I don't want to get in trouble with Slughorn…"

"Oh, come off it, Lily!" said Marlene impatiently. "Like he'd get angry with his favorite student!"

"I'm not his favorite," replied Lily, but she blushed, her face clashing slightly with her hair.

"Are you blind and deaf and stupid?" Marlene demanded, standing up and walking over to Lily. "He's like half in love with you or something. He spends more time kissing your ass than he does teaching!"

"That's not—"

"It is _so_ true!" said Marlene exasperatedly. "'Ms. Evans, your Color-Changing Solution is absolutely brilliant!' 'I have never seen such Potions brilliance from a student in all my years of teaching!' 'Ms. Evans, you are almost as talented as you are beautiful!' 'Marry me and have my children—I'll give you extra credit! Not that you need, it, of course—" Marlene was now on her knees, holding Lily's hand as though proposing marriage.

"Marlene, that's so gross!" said Lily, but she was laughing despite herself.

"So come on, don't be a buzz kill," said Marlene. "Let's see that essay!"

"Marlene, you really should do your own work for once."

"I did that Transfiguration paper on my own!" said Marlene.

"No, you didn't, you copied Mary's when she wasn't looking," said Lily reproachfully.

"Whatever, I only got an A," she shrugged.

"You know, maybe if you did the essay yourself, you could actually learn something."

"Ew, I'm allergic to learning," said Marlene, and she actually shuddered a little. Lily rolled her eyes.

"I'm not letting you copy anything," said Lily simply. "Talk to Alice or Mary, if you are so desperate to cheat."

"Don't think about it as cheating," said Marlene. "I'm simply utilizing my resources." Lily rolled her eyes again.

"If you spent as much time and effort doing your homework as you do looking for someone to rip off then you'd have better grades than I do," Lily grumbled. "Where are Alice and Mary?"

"I dunno, probably the common room," said Marlene, who was now looking very put out. "I'm gonna go see who else I can hit up for that stupid essay…" She exited the dormitory.

Lily shook her head and pulled her diary out again.

_--I wish they'd fall in the lake and get squished to death by the Giant Squid. Well, no, I don't.; that would be really mean. But they should at least get really bad ear infections or something. They deserve that. _

_Urgh, just talking about those stupid boys is making me angry. Back to happy topics. So my friends, Mary, Alice, and Marlene. Mary and Alice are both pretty quiet, but that's okay because Marlene's loud enough for the both of them. She looks super geeky but she is actually kind of mean. Not to me, though—only people who really deserve it. And Sev. Alice is really sweet, and Mary is kind of…twitchy. She's always nervous about something or other. I'm really glad to be here at Hogwarts, but I kind of miss home. Mum and Dad write every week, but Petunia is still angry with me. I really want her to forgive me. It's not my fault I'm a witch! I would honestly trade in all my magic if Petunia would be my friend again. We used to get along so well. Maybe I can talk to Professor Dumbledore and see if maybe he'll let Petunia come to school with me next year. Next month are the Christmas holidays, so I'll be going home to see my family again. Maybe Petunia and I can make up then. I really hope so. _

_Alright, well, I'd better be getting to bed. I'll write in you soon, I promise!_

_Love, _

_Lily_

And as the memory dissolved, it struck Harry that James had been nowhere to be found. This could only mean one thing: the Pensieve contained some of his mother's memories, too.

* * *

**A/N:** Hey, guys, sorry for the long update and short chapter...I've been having a bit of writer's block lately. This chapter is not quite as exciting as the last, but I have some interesting things planned for next chapter! I have a bit of an outline going on...kind of...so that should give the story some direction! Also, how many of you have seen StarKidPotter's HP musical on YouTube? If you haven't, it's excellent and I seriously encourage you to go look it up...it kind of made my life! Rumbleroar FTW!!

-Dem


	6. Chapter Five: Slytherins and Dungbombs

**A/N:** Hello, my wonderful readers! It's late, but I'm updating! I want to apologize for the relative crappiness of the previous chapter. I'll probably re-write it later on...this one is considerably better, though, so maybe it will make up for it a bit! So real quick I just want to answer a review:

Melt The Street: Thanks for saying such nice things about my story! So I definitely agree with you about the LJ dynamic not getting interesting until 7th year, but we're going to go through all the years _anyways_ because this is not _just_ about Lily and James--it's about everybody! Don't worry, I'll try not to drag the years out too long, and I'll keep it all interesting, and if you feel like things are not up to scratch, just let me know. I want to make the best story possible!

Also, just wanna clear up something--nobody called me out on it, but thought I would anyways. Lily's memories in the Pensieve. I figured that since James owned it, Lily had access to it too. Simple explanation. Also, yes, in my story, James made the Quidditch team as a first year. This is because James is a _Chaser_ and Harry was the youngest _Seeker_ in a century...looking back I probably would not have introduced Quidditch so soon, but it's live and learn, right? Besides, it's not really that big of a deal...but thank you to my awesome reviewers for keeping me honest! Anyways, I'll stop rambling--here's the chapter!

**Chapter Five: Dungbombs and Slytherins**

"Has anyone seen my Chocolate Frog card collection?" Peter was asking, searching underneath his four-poster. Nobody answered him; the chaos level in the boys' dormitory had reached an all-time high.

"And it's Potter, Potter with the Quaffle, speeding towards the goal!" James was yelling, wearing only his pajama bottoms and a Gryffindor scarf tied around his head and holding a balled up pair of socks in his hands. He jumped off his bed, landing close to the ground and then jumping up again to run a lap around the dormitory. "Dodges a bludger, fakes left, fakes left again, shoots, and—oops, sorry Sirius," he said after nailing his friend (who had been carelessly throwing everything in reach into his trunk, regardless of who it belonged to) in the face with his dirty socks.

"Oho! What's this? In the aftermath of a vicious and unprovoked attack, Black chases down Potter in a sudden disregard for the rules of Quidditch and pushes him off his broom!" Sirius shouted, chasing after James and pulling him down to the ground.

"And it's a foul! Penalty shot awarded to Potter!" said James, but Sirius did not let go.

"Well, look at that! The referee has re-considered and decided that Potter was in violation of the No Gross Dirty Laundry Allowed on the Quidditch Pitch amendment of 1971! Penalty shot awarded to Black!" Sirius jumped up and grabbed the socks, but James grabbed Sirius's leg, who almost tripped over.

"The referee re-re-considers, as Black is now in violation of the No Making Up Bull Crap During a Quidditch Game amendment of 1971! Penalty shot awarded to Potter!"

"The referee re-re-_re_-considers, and awards Black _two _penalty shots, because he is way better looking than Potter!" Sirius jumped out of James's grip and throws the socks into his own trunk and shutting it. "And the crowd goes wild!"

"No way, that's completely ridiculous!" James protested. "Need I re-direct your attention to the No Making Up Bull Crap During a Quidditch Game amendment of 1971?"

"Ah, but little Jamesiepoo, that's not bull crap, that's the truth!" Sirius said, now taking a victory lap around the dormitory.

"Ha! I'd still be better looking even if I'd had a Bat-Bogey Hex put on me right now!"

"You mean that's _not _the after-effects of the Bat-Bogey Hex?" said Sirius in mock surprise. "That's your _real face_? Ooh, that's not even funny anymore. Now I just feel bad for you."

"Shut up," said James, though he was laughing along with Sirius. "Remember whose house you're staying in for the next few weeks!"

The lock on the bathroom door clicked and Remus stepped out of it, towel-drying his hair.

"Seriously, guys? Your trunks are even emptier than they were when I left!"

"Will you settle something for us?" Sirius asked, ignoring Remus's jibe and not bothering to wait for an answer. "Who's better-looking, me or James?"

"Sorry, guys, neither of you are my type," said Remus, shaking his head and neatly stacking his textbooks in his trunk.

"Oh, is that so, Lupin?" said Sirius in dramatic tones. "Because I'll have you know that I'm the best thing that's ever happened to you!"

Remus laughed loudly.

"If by 'best' you mean 'most irritating,' then yes. Where's my Transfiguration book?"

"You know you love us," said James, ignoring Remus's question and batting his eyelashes.

"What is on your head?" Remus asked, facing James for the first time and rolling his eyes.

"It's super hot," James told him, tossing his hair back. Remus rolled his eyes again and picked his Transfiguration book up from under his bed.

"While all this attention is flattering, you both should know that I'm taken," said Remus casually, shutting his trunk and sitting on his bed.

"Oh? Who's the lucky lady?" asked James.

"Peter," replied Remus simply.

"What? Ow!" shouted Peter, accompanied by a loud _thump_ that was his head on the underside of his bed. The three other boys laughed.

"You two are especially off the wall tonight," Remus observed as James jumped up and down on his bed. "I suppose this has nothing to do with the four treacle tarts you two downed at dinner tonight…"

"Tomorrow's the first day of the holidays!" James exclaimed. "No homework, no teachers, no classes, no Snivellus, and, best of all, presents!"

"I do not envy your mother on Christmas morning," said Remus, shaking his head. "You _and _Sirius on sugar high after getting gifts…"

"Well, you're welcome to come and visit!" James said, slightly out of breath from all the jumping. "Peter, too. My parents won't mind!"

"We'll see," said Remus warily, looking as though the only way he would consider coming to the Potters for Christmas was with a helmet.

"Seriously, guys, where is my Chocolate Frog card collection?" asked Peter.

"Have you checked your trunk?" asked Sirius.

"Of course I've checked my trunk! What do you think—oh, it's right here."

"Whoa, James, what's _this_?" Sirius pulled a long, silvery cloak from James's trunk. James's smile broadened, and Remus's jaw dropped.

"Is that what I think it is?" he gasped, touching the silky fabric in Sirius's hands. James took the cloak and wrapped it around himself so all but his head disappeared. Peter squealed and fell off his bed, while Sirius and Remus stared at James in awe.

"Is it _real_?" asked Remus breathlessly, and James nodded. "Where did you get a true Invisibility Cloak? Those cost hundreds of thousands of Galleons…"

"It's been in my family for ages," James explained, throwing the cloak up over his head so he was entirely invisible. "Dad gave it to me just before I started Hogwarts."

"You kept that quiet!" Sirius said indignantly, looking around wildly for his friend.

"Well, I thought I'd save it for a special occasion," said James's voice. "Like tonight." Sirius, Remus, and Peter all looked eager, and James's bodiless voice continued. "We'd better make sure the Slytherins don't forget us over the holidays, don't you agree?"

"Oh, yeah," said Sirius. "What did you have in mind?"

"Just thought we could spread a little Gryffindor pride," smirked James as he lowered the Invisibility Cloak. But before James could explain exactly what he had in mind, the dormitory dissolved, replaced by a dark, empty corridor.

Or, at least, Harry thought it was empty.

"I'm hungry."

"Shut it, Peter."

"Ouch!"

"James, you're stepping on my toes."

"Well, watch where you're putting them!"

"Sirius, are you sure this is right?"

"Of course I'm sure. I've heard my parents bang on about Slytherin for eleven years, haven't I?"

"SHH! Someone's coming!"

The four invisible Gryffindors immediately fell silent as footsteps echoed through the dungeon. James, Sirius, Peter, Remus, and Harry soon found that they belonged to two Slytherins, both of whom were considerably older than the first years.

"—spending my holiday in France," the all-too-familiar voice of Bellatrix Black was saying casually. As the pair stepped into the dim torchlight, Harry saw that her arm was slung around the waist of a mean-looking boy much older than she was. "Father is taking the whole family, as a special treat. He just got promoted, you see. Obviously, Sirius, my reject of a cousin, won't be going. I'll bet he's staying here with all the other pathetic losers and orphans." She laughed loudly, her shrill voice echoing through the dungeons.

"I don't know how I'm going to last without you, Bella," said the boy, kissing her full on the mouth. Harry heard one of the concealed Gryffindors (Harry guessed it was Sirius) gag, but the two were so intent on each other that they did not notice. The finally pulled apart, both a little out of breath.

"Once I'm done with you tonight, Rudolphus, you're gonna have plenty to think about," said Bellatrix in a low, suggestive voice, and Harry felt himself gag as well. This had to be one of the most disturbing conversations he had ever heard—watching the fourteen-year-old version of Sirius's murderer talk like _that_ to her much older boyfriend was enough to make him want to puke and hex something. "Can you make sure your dormitory is empty?" Bellatrix asked.

"Yeah," said Rudolphus. "Meet you up there in ten minutes."

They continued down the hallway and stopped in front of a blank stretch of wall.

"Salazar," said Bellatrix, and the wall slid open. Harry and the rest of the boys snuck in behind them, and followed Rudolphus up the stairs to the boys' dormitories. They stopped on the first landing, where a sign reading "First Years" hung over the door. Harry and the others silently cracked open the door, hardly daring to breathe and cringing as the hinges creaked slightly.

All the hangings on the four-poster beds were drawn, and the snores of the Slytherin boys filled the room. James pulled the Invisibility Cloak off of all of them, and all four boys pulled out their wands.

James pulled out two dungbombs and muttered, "_Locomotor dungbombs_." The dungbombs rose into the air in front of him, and with his wand, he directed the dungbombs in front of Remus, who muttered, "_Incendio_." A flame erupted from the tip of his wand, and he lit each dungbomb carefully before quickly extinguishing his wand. James threw the cloak over all four of them again and forced the dungbombs to float into the Slytherin dormitory.

Then, many things happened in a very short amount of time. There was a BANG, and the dungbombs exploded, and almost instantly the smell of dung permeated the room. Harry heard loud, angry voices inside of the dormitory, followed by the wrenching back of the hangings on four-poster beds, and stifled giggles from the invisible Gryffindors.

The door was thrown open, and one of the Gryffindors said, "OUCH!" as the door hit him. Snape whirled around.

"Who's there?" he demanded.

"Severus, who're you talking to?" shouted a voice from inside the dormitory. There were uneven footsteps and two other Slytherins stumbled out of the room.

"There's someone here! _Lumos!"_ Snape scanned the landing now drenched in wandlight, but there was nobody to see.

"Get out of the way," said another Slytherin, pushing Snape aside and hurrying down the stairs to the Common Room. The other followed. Snape didn't move for a few minutes, and continued to search for the invisible perpetrators.

Suddenly, Harry felt himself being tugged down the stairs. He was taken by surprise, and would have tripped had be been solid, but instead merely floated through the steps. The Gryffindors must have moved into the Common Room.

Harry couldn't see them. All he could see were the other two Slytherin boys, spluttering and swearing at the top of their voices. A door slammed somewhere up the dormitory, and a few moments later, Lucius Malfoy and another boy Harry didn't recognize had descended the steps, Snape on their heels.

"_What_ is going on?" the boy Harry didn't recognize hissed.

"Some prat let off a dungbomb in our dormitory!" exclaimed one of the Slytherins. "Or did you miss the smell?"

"Avery, shut up," said Lucius Malfoy. "Are you trying to wake the whole House?"

"Yeah, but _someone let off a dungbomb in our dormitory!_" Avery told him.

"And what are we supposed to do about that?" asked Malfoy's friend, stifling a yawn.

"Um, fix it, Parkinson!" said the other Slytherin.

"Help us find who did it," said Snape.

"Everyone's in their beds," said Parkinson flatly. "Nobody's door was open when we came down here."

"Check the girls, then!" Snape told him.

"You had all better show us a bit more respect or we might decide to give you all detention," Malfoy snapped.

"Fine. Will you please check the girls?" said Snape, forcing calm.

"Stefan, go check," Malfoy told Parkinson. Parkinson went to the entryway of the girls' dormitory and called up, "OI! BLACK! _BLACK!" _He banged on the wall with his hand. "BLACK!"

Harry heard muffled voices and footsteps from up the stairs.

_"What?" _

Three half-asleep girls were standing on the landing; one beautiful with dark hair and heavy-lidded eyes—Bellatrix, one taller, older and paler, with white-blond hair and a long face—this was unmistakably Narcissa Malfoy, and the other, who was both pale and dark-haired, with light eyes. Harry did not recognize her.

"What the _hell_ are you thinking?" Bellatrix snarled. "It's the middle of the fucking night!"

"Save it," Parkinson told her. "Go back to bed. You too, Narcissa. We were looking for Andromeda." Narcissa turned and retreated up the stairs silently, but Bellatrix continued to grumble all the way, no doubt frustrated that she was being denied the opportunity to scream at Malfoy and Parkinson for waking her up.

"What is it?" asked the other girl—Andromeda, Harry remembered.

"Someone set off a dungbomb in the first-year boys' dormitory," said Malfoy. "And they won't go back to sleep until we help them find out who did it. Are any of the girls out of bed?"

"No," yawned Andromeda. "Well, Bellatrix was trying to sneak out a few minutes ago, but Magdalena Gardovi caught her and threatened to give her a detention if she didn't go right back to bed."

"There, happy?" said Parkinson. "Now, I'm going back to bed."

"There was someone on the landing!" said Snape. "When I opened the door, I felt it hit them, and they made a noise."

"Did you see them?" asked Andromeda.

"No."

"Snape, it was probably just someone's cat," said Andromeda. "It's late, you're all going home for the holidays tomorrow…just sleep in the Common Room tonight."

"But someone was there! On the landing!" Snape protested as Andromeda made her way back towards the girls' dormitories.

"Snape, let's go over your story, shall we?" said Parkinson impatiently. "You claim that invisible people on the landing put dungbombs in your dormitory?"

"Er…well…I don't know if they were _invisible_, I just couldn't see them!"

"You were probably dreaming," said Malfoy shortly. "Go to sleep."

"But—"

"Nobody cares, Snape," snapped Parkinson.

"And if any of you wake us up one more time, I'll hex you all," Malfoy added. The older students went back to their respective dormitories, leaving the first years alone.

"There was someone there, I'm sure of it," said Snape stubbornly.

"Like Parkinson said, nobody cares," Avery replied, plopping down in an armchair by the dying fire. "I'm going to sleep." The other Slytherin first year followed suit, and Snape, left with nobody to argue with, had no choice but to sit in one of the chairs and close his eyes.

Minutes passed, and nothing happened. The breathing of Avery, Snape, and the other Slytherin became more and more rhythmic, and the embers in the fire withered away and became nothing. Just when Harry was wondering if James had fallen asleep, he heard Sirius whispering, "Are they sleeping?"

"I think so," said Remus's voice quietly.

"Let's get out of here before we're stuck here all night," said James, and Harry heard their soft footsteps across the carpet, and the swish of the stone wall as the Gryffindors exited the Slytherin Common Room.

**A/N: **Oh, look another author's note! I just want to thank all my awesome reviewers: DistractedButSerious, falafel90, deisegirl, Jessluvsharry, kittyatza, hanak95, -EHWIES, Kira2667, the sudoku kid, FallingForFootie, Ms. Estella Black, EatenByFlowersAndStillLaughing, Anonymous, reyne, Vivsheryl, XsinglovelivedanceX, Somi-chan, words behind my eyelids, prongster, and melt the street. You guys are super amazing and encouraging and give really good feedback! Thanks so much! Again! But, alas, my need for reviews rivals Bellatrix's sex drive, and so don't forget to click that little button and tell me what's on your mind!

-Dem


	7. Chapter Six: Sisters and Holidays

**A/N:** Hey, guys! So first off, I want to thank all my super-awesome reviewers for this chapter: -EHWIES, deisegirl, Jessluvsharry, EatenByFlowersAndStillLaughing, FallingForFootie, DistractedButSerious, JPx3LE, the sudoku kid, TsubasaSyaoforever, prongster, and xXxAliceXCullenxXx! You guys are amazing. So this chapter's a little bit short...sorry about that, but I didn't want to stretch it out for the sake of word count, and I like it the way it is, so you guys can just review and complain about it. But for now...read on!

**Chapter Six: **Sisters and Holidays

"Mum!"

Lily was dragging her trunk behind her as fast as her small stature would allow, elbowing past clumps of people, a look of excitement plastered on her face. Harry spotted Mrs. Evans immediately in the crowded train station—she was taller than Lily would ever be, and her red hair was a shade or two lighter than Lily's, but their green, almond-shaped eyes were absolutely identical. She was standing about twenty feet from the entrance to Platform 9 and ¾, craning her neck in search of her daughter. Lily finally pushed through a group of teenagers and came into view. She dropped her trunk and hugged her mother.

"I missed you," Mrs. Evans said into Lily's hair. They pulled apart, Lily looking around expectantly. "Daddy couldn't get off work," explained Mrs. Evans, picking up Lily's trunk and making her way out of Kings Cross, but Lily did not follow her. "But he'll be home when—"

"Where's Tuney?" Lily interrupted, and her mother exhaled slightly, turning around to face her. Judging by Lily's downcast expression, Harry knew that Lily already knew what the answer would be, but she waited for it anyways.

"She hasn't quite…" Mrs. Evans searched for the right word. "…adjusted, yet." Lily, her worst suspicions confirmed, now looked positively miserable. Mrs. Evans ran her hand through Lily's hair in a motherly way and said quietly, "She just needs time, sweetie. Come on, I'll buy you an ice cream on the way home."

"I'm not hungry," replied Lily in a monotone, picking up her trunk and leading her mother back into the Muggle world.

Lily was sitting in the back of a gray Volkswagon, accompanied by her trunk, and Mrs. Evans at the wheel, clearly in the middle of an awkward silence. A light rain had begun to fall from the sky, which was now completely black, as they drove through a suburb that Harry was unfamiliar with.

"I can't wait for you to show me everything you've learned," said Mrs. Evans finally. "Maybe you could conjure up some breakfast for us tomorrow!"

"Mum, I can barely Transfigure a teacup," said Lily, in the same kind of voice she used with James. "We don't even _try_ conjuring until sixth year. And I can't _show_ you anything—we live in a Muggle neighborhood! You're a Muggle, Dad's a Muggle, Petunia's a Muggle…it would be a direct violation of section thirteen of the International Confederation of Warlock's Statute of Secrecy. _And_ I'm still underage, so _that_ means _another_ violation of the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery—"

"Oh, look, we're home," said Mrs. Evans, cutting across her daughter's lecture, most of which Harry was sure she did not understand. Mrs. Evans helped Lily lug her trunk up the driveway to a yellow, average-sized suburban house, complete with a mailbox at the end of the driveway with "EVANS" painted on it. There was a fraying welcome mat on their porch and flowers in the garden. It was like a friendlier version of the Dursley's house.

Mrs. Evans fumbled with the key, and once the door was unlocked, both entered the house. Lily looked around and took a deep breath, as if remembering how her house smelled (like a pleasant combination of Windex and mashed potatoes). Mrs. Evans smiled.

"Miss our boring old house that much?"

"Yeah," said Lily contentedly.

"Katherine? Lily?" called a voice from the kitchen.

"In here, Richard," Mrs. Evans called back, and Lily exclaimed, "Dad!"

Mr. Evans came into view, wearing a lopsided tie and a tired expression, which brightened immediately at the sight of his youngest daughter. He hugged her, picking her up and carrying her over his shoulder into the kitchen, to Lily's protests. Mrs. Evans cut a slice of carrot cake and put it in front of Lily, who had been returned mercifully to her feet. Lily ate it ravenously, looking uncannily like Sirius.

"Chew, honey," said Mrs. Evans, looking a little disgusted and a little amused.

"We saved all of your letters," said Mrs. Evans. "I can't believe half the stuff you're writing about! One of your teachers is a _cat_?"

Lily swallowed with difficulty. "No, Professor McGonagall is an _animagus_," she explained, already loading her fork with a new bite if cake. "She can _turn into_ a cat whenever she wants to."

"Could you learn how to do that?" said Mr. Evans. "Turn into a cat?"

Lily, her mouth full again, shrugged, but before she could swallow and give an articulate answer, a shrill voice penetrated the air from the upstairs.

"_Some_ people are trying to _sleep_, you know!"

Petunia. Harry guessed that somehow Lily had forgotten all about her sister in the midst of her monologues on magic to her parents, but her face immediately fell again and she pushed away her cake.

"I'll go talk to her," said Mrs. Evans, hastily dropping the dishtowel she was holding and exiting the room.

Mr. Evans opened his mouth, as though to ask a question, but closed it again, and he and Lily sat in the kitchen, listening to the muffled voices from Petunia's bedroom.

"—won't tolerate this behavior anymore, Petunia. She's your sister, for God's sake!"

"She can stay at that stupid freak school for all I care! The way she writes those letters you'd think she'd rather live there anyways!"

Harry was surprised Petunia had even read Lily's letters at all, but was not given time to think about it, because the voices floating downstairs were becoming louder.

"Petunia Rosemary Evans, you get your rump downstairs and see your sister this instant! I didn't make you come to the platform, but this is silly! And it's almost Christmas!"

"Fine!" The footsteps Harry heard above them were rather louder than necessary. Petunia emerged in the kitchen, wearing pink pajamas, her face contorted sourly.

"Welcome home, freak," snarled Petunia, and she stalked out of the room without waiting for a reply or reprimand.

Snow was falling outside the Evans' kitchen window, and Lily and Petunia were eating cereal at opposite ends of the kitchen table in stony silence while Mrs. Evans hummed Christmas carols. The television was on in the adjacent room, where Harry saw that the presents under the Evans' Christmas tree had been reduced to scraps of wrapping paper.

"—found dead in her bed yesterday morning. Paramedics were called by her daughter, but they were unable to resuscitate. The autopsy reveals no sign of illness, nor any indication of the cause of death. At the time of her death, Julianna Lester, thirty-nine, was alone in her home. Her daughter returned an estimated two hours after her death, noting no signs of a break-in. Neighbors—"

"Richard, change the channel!" Mrs. Evans called into the next room. "On Christmas, honestly…"

The doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," offered Petunia, clearly glad to a reason to leave any room Lily was in. Harry heard the door open.

"Who is it?" called Mrs. Evans, following Petunia to the door.

"Nobody," said Petunia, already shutting the door. "He was just leav—"

"Severus!" said Mrs. Evans happily, and Lily brightened at the mention of her friend's name. "Come in, come in, you must be freeing. Lily's over here, in the kitchen." Lily slid off her chair as Snape came into the kitchen, dressed in jeans that had been rolled up several times and a gigantic sweatshirt stained with what Harry recognized as Firewhisky, holding a small package. He was reminded horribly of himself in Dudley's enormous hand-me-downs.

"Marry Christmas," he said.

"Sev!" Lily hugged her friend, who twitched a little, looking extremely taken aback, but pleased all the same. He hugged her back, and Petunia gagged. Lily pulled away.

"Here." He held out the package, which, Harry noticed, had been badly wrapped with an old issue of the _Daily Prophet_.

"Hold on, you're presents' in my trunk." Lily headed up the stairs and Snape followed.

"You didn't have to get me anything," said Snape, but Lily ignored him. They had reached the landing and went inside the first door on the left—Lily's (surprisingly untidy) room—and it did not go unnoticed by Harry that Snape seemed to know which room was hers. Lily rummaged through her trunk in the corner before producing a larger box and handing it to Snape, who was sitting with his back against Lily's bed.

"Merry Christmas, Sev." She sat next to him, and Snape accepted Lily's present, though he waited for Lily to open hers first. She did, and gasped when she had ripped off the last of the newspaper wrapping and opened the box concealed inside.

"Oh, Sev…" she was holding up a golden chain, on the end of which was a locket.

"Open it," said Snape. She did; inside the locket was a moving picture of Lily and Snape at Hogwarts, laughing on the grounds by the lake on a sunny day. Lily closed it.

"Where did you get this?" asked Lily quietly.

"It's my mother's," explained Snape. "But don't worry," he added hastily, when he saw that Lily now looked a little uneasy, "she's to drunk to notice it's gone." These words did not have the effect Snape had been hoping for. Lily looked rather like she wanted to give the locket back. "Don't worry about it," Snape told her, as though reading her mind, and hesitantly put his hand on her knee. Harry cringed. "She's never worn this a day in her life. My father got it for her on their anniversary a few years ago. She thinks it's hideous. Please keep it."

Lily smiled a little, and put the locket on her bedside table. Snape looked pleased. "Open mine now. It's not as nice as yours…"

But Snape ad already torn Lily's package open. It was a new pair of shoes.

"I—don't take this the wrong way," said Lily quickly. "It's just, I noticed you needed new ones." Lily looked a little embarrassed. "I hope they fit, I guessed your size." Harry looked down at Snape's shoes—they were far to big for him, and shabbier than any of the adult Remus Lupin's clothing.

"Thank you, Lily," said Snape quietly, pulling off his horrible shoes and putting on the new ones.

"Hey, Greaseball, Freakshow!" Petunia had opened the door louder than necessary, causing all the occupants in the room to jump. She smirked. "Mum's made hot chocolate." Petunia left, and Snape and Lily followed, the memory dissolving behind them.

**A/N:** So...told you it was short. And it's not very funny...next chapter will be longer, I promise, and not just a filler. A few people have asked me about the pacing of this story, and I DO plan on doing all seven years at Hogwarts, but some will be much shorter than others (for instance, first year's going to end in 3-5 chapters). Anyways, things are going to start to get a little heavy next chapter...don't forget to leave a review! And if any of you have or know of a fic that's really good (preferably LJ), please recommend it!

-Dem


	8. Chapter Seven: Mournings and Mornings

"He's not here," said James, looking up and down the Gryffindor table for the third time that evening. Sirius trailed behind him, eating a chocolate frog he had clearly just taken from Peter, who was protesting loudly—and fruitlessly—behind him.

"That was _mine_—no, look at me when I'm talking to you!"

"Look again," said Sirius through a mouthful of frog, sitting down in front of an empty plate across from where James was standing. The Gryffindor table was only three-quarters full, as students were still filing into the Great Hall.

"Sirius, you can't just _take_ stuff from other people, you had every opportunity—" Peter was saying, but nobody paid him any attention. James stood on his seat and scoured the Great Hall.

"He's not here," James repeated. "He wasn't on the train, either…"

"—I bought those with my own money—"

"Maybe we just didn't see him," said Sirius.

"—you _know _I collect the cards—"

"We looked everywhere, though," James replied. The Gryffindor table was almost full.

"—and it's not _my _fault you ate all of _yours_ in fifteen minutes—"

"Maybe he—Peter, shut _up_ already," said Sirius, turning to his small, tubby friend, who muttered darkly under his breath but did not say anything more. "Maybe he missed the train."

"Remus Lupin, miss a deadline?" said James incredulously. "Yeah, right." James sat down, staring at his plate and thinking hard. "Is he sick?" Harry looked up at the enchanted ceiling—sure enough, the moon was full.

"Is who sick?"

Lily had just sat down next to Sirius with Alice, Marlene, and Mary. James' head snapped up.

"Mind your own business, Evans," said Sirius.

"Fine, excuse me for being polite," said Lily acidly, turning back to her friends.

"We can write him tomorrow," suggested Peter, and James nodded.

"He's probably just sick," James decided, just as food magically appeared on all the plates. All three boys eagerly piled food on their plates, eating as much as they could fit in their mouths.

"Oi, James!" A tall girl much older than James—she had to have been in sixth or seventh year—was standing behind him. James choked in an attempt to respond and Sirius snorted. With difficulty, James swallowed and looked up at the girl, who Harry recognized the Keeper on the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

"What's up, Linnea?" he asked.

"Did you hear about Jordana's mum?" asked Linnea.

"Oh. Yeah," said James, his tone more subdued and his eyes downcast. "The Lesters'—"

"Lester?" Lily interrupted suddenly, abandoning her conversation with Mary Macdonald and turning to James and Linnea. "Are you talking about Julianna Lester?"

"Yeah," said James, looking as though he was unsure why (or how) Lily had entered this conversation.

"How did you hear about that?"

"It was all over the news," James told her, raising his eyebrows and looking a little bewildered.

"It was all over the _Muggle_ news. You're a pureblood, you don't have a television. Why would it be news in the Wizarding world?" Lily asked, while Peter mouthed, "What's a television?" at Sirius, who shrugged.

"Because the Lesters are wizards," said James as though this was obvious. "Mr. Lester works with Dad at the Ministry." James turned away from Lily. "Is Jordana okay?"

"I dunno," said Linnea. "She hasn't come back to school."

"You're kidding!" exclaimed James. "What are we going to do without a Captain or a Seeker?"

"Her mother just _died_ and all you care about is a Quidditch match?" exclaimed Lily, spitting potatoes all over Mary, apparently unable to contain herself. James rolled his eyes.

"Please go away," he said. Now it was Lily's turn to roll her eyes, turning back to her potatoes.

" McGonagall says I'm Captain, for now, and we're going to hold Seeker tryouts on Saturday, just in case Jordana doesn't come back," said Linnea. "So be at the pitch at one o'clock." James nodded and turned back to his chicken, filling his fork with a large bite. The fork had just reached his lips when—

"Why would her death be on the Muggle news?" Lily asked.

"Because the Lesters live in a Muggle neighborhood," said James shortly, who now looked thouroughly annoyed that Lily was talking to him (and distracting him from his meal), but didn't seem to find a reason to be nasty to her. Instead he simply turned back to his chicken and struck up a conversation with Sirius. Lily turned back to her friends.

"I didn't know wizards lived in Muggle neighborhoods," said Lily.

"Most don't," said Alice. "But Mrs. Lester's a Muggle, so I suppose it makes sense. And murder's pretty big news, no matter who it's happened to, if you ask—"

"Murder? What?" Lily interrupted. "Nobody knows why she died!"

"The Muggles don't," Marlene corrected through a mouthful of mashed potatoes. "Everyone else does, though. Julianna Lester was murdered." Lily looked horrified

"But the news report said there was no obvious cause of death!" said Lily. "If she was murdered, she would have had to be…I dunno…shot, or stabbed, or poisoned, or something. Even Muggles can recognize a gunshot wound."

"Lily, you don't get it," said Marlene impatiently. "She was murdered by another wizard. Wizards don't need knives or guns or poison—that's too crude. Whoever did it used the Killing Curse. You know, _Avada Kedavra._"

"Who did it?" she asked quietly.

"Nobody knows," said Marlene. "But who ever it was left this mark thing above their house. A skull, with this snake coming out of its mouth."

* * *

Before having enough time to process this new development, Harry was thrown into the next memory. The sun was rising, and a chink of light that had found its way through the mostly-curtained window lit the Gryffindor boys' dormitory. The usual mess littered the floor—school books, parchment, clothing, and bits of food, and the door of the dormitory was not locked, as it usually was at night.

Someone was stirring in the bed on the far left—James. He groaned, fumbled with his glasses on his bedside table, checked his watch, and groaned again, flopping back down on his back. One of the other boys snored loudly, and James turned over, tossing the first thing he got his hands on—his Charms textbook—at Sirius' bed.

"Mmph!" came Sirius' muffled reply. He pulled the hangings back slightly. "What the hell, J-J-James?" he yawned.

"Stop snoring," groaned James drowsily as another snore wracked the dormitory.

"'S not me, you prat," Sirius moaned. "Don't throw this shit at me." He threw the Charms book back, but not having James' spot-on aim, it hit the bathroom door.

Peter yelped and sat up straight.

"Get a _grip_," said Sirius, annoyed. "Next person to—for the love of all things holy, who is snoring?" Sirius' voice had risen to a shout, waking the fourth boy in the dormitory in the bed next to his.

"Sirius, wha--?" said Remus groggily.

"Remus?" James asked, pushing his glasses up his nose and trying to squint around Sirius' bed. "That you?"

"It is seven. In the morning. On a Saturday." Remus groaned. "Go back to sleep and leave me alone."

"When did you get back?" said James.

"What part of 'go back to sleep and leave me alone' are you not getting?" Remus groaned.

"_You_ woke _us_ up with your infernal snoring," Sirius said darkly, rolling out of bed and opening Remus's hangings. He groaned loudly as he was thrown into the light. Harry saw a faint expression of alarm flash across Sirius's face; Remus looked pale and sickly, with dark circles under his eyes and cuts down his arms. Harry suspected that he harbored more than just those cuts and scratches.

"Well, then I apologize on behalf of my sinuses," said Remus acidly, shielding his eyes and sounding more annoyed than Harry had ever heard him.

"What _happened_ to you?" Sirius demanded.

"You never answered my question," James reminded him.

"I'll answer whatever you want in four hours," Remus told him flatly. He wrenched his hangings shut, and Harry heard the rustle of blankets as he pulled them up over his head. James, Sirius, and Peter exchanged confused glances as they got back into their beds.

"Remus, where—"

"I _will_ hex you, James," Remus cut him off, and James, looking taken aback, curled back into his four-poster and shut his eyes.

* * *

The next memory emerged. Harry guessed that this was the same day, as the room was as messy as ever and James' Charms book was lying on the floor near the bathroom. All the Gryffindor boys were now awake. James was pulling on socks, Sirius was pulling on a shirt, and Peter was looking for something in his trunk. Harry could hear the shower on in the bathroom.

The shower was switched off, and a few minutes later, Remus Lupin emerged, fully dressed and towel-drying his hair, which had grown since Harry had last seen him in a memory. Despite his shower and being slightly more alert, he still looked frighteningly gaunt.

"So?" said James expectantly. "Where were you?"

"My grandfather died," said Remus simply, looking for his shoes under his bed. James and Sirius seemed to buy this, but Peter looked a little confused.

"Didn't your grandfather die back in November?" asked Peter. James and Sirius both looked at Remus, who had stopped moving momentarily. However, he regained his composure soon enough and resurfaced, trainers in hand.

"My _other_ grandfather died," he invented, trying to keep his voice steady and convincing. "I got back late last night. You guys were already asleep."

"That doesn't explain why you look like shit," said Sirius.

"Stop it, you're making me blush," said Remus sarcastically.

"Mate, you look like you haven't eaten or seen daylight in months," said Peter.

"I _haven't_ eaten much," said Remus. "With him dying it was just too…upsetting."

"And all those scratches on your arm?" James prompted, rolling up Remus' sleeve, presumably so he couldn't protest their existence.

"Hey, let go," said Remus, jerking his arm away and rolling down the sleeves of his sweater self-consciously. "I…mum got into a car crash. That's how my grandfather died. In a car crash. Which I was also in."

Sirius and James exchanged suspicious looks and Remus was rolling his eyes at himself as though annoyed with his own bad cover story.

"Let's get some breakfast," said Remus hastily, and the other three hesitated, but mercifully did not ask any more questions. Harry saw Remus exhale slightly before exiting the dormitory, closing the door behind him.

**A/N: **Alright, shout-outs to all my lovely reviewers: -EHWIES, the sudoku kid, deisegirl, FallingForFootie, CoolDuck, DistractedButSerious, prongster, Jessluvsharry, and wishfulthinking123! I so love you guys, and thanks for all your wonderful recommendations! To return the favor, I would definitely recommend NeverAPrefect's _Only if you go out with me, Evans, Points In The Right Direction_ by CONTERRA-SANandBLACKVELVETBAND, and _Broom Cupboard _by Zayz. On another note, I totally just noticed with this chapter that Lily is turning into a kind of mini-Hermione...do not worry, I have more plans for her characterization! And I hope that Remus did not come off _too_ mean in this chapter...he's just not a morning person.

Oh, and review! Complain or offer criticism or tell me that you just plain love/hate it, I don't care. I love hearing from you guys!

-Dem


	9. Chapter Eight: Seekers and Bad Ideas

**A/N: **So I was looking at my story traffic page, and WOW! You guys come from EVERYWHERE! USA, UK, Canada, Australia, Germany, India, Lebanon, Mexico, Finland, Indonesia, New Zealand, Philippines, Sweden, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Ireland, Singapore, Oman, Portugal, Switzerland, Netherlands, Pakistan, and Norway. So crazy...anyways, just thought I would say...

**Chapter Eight: Seekers and Bad Ideas**

James entered the Great Hall about halfway through dinner, slightly sweaty.

"Pete, move it," he said sourly, plopping down between Peter and a third year he didn't know, across from Sirius and Remus.

"How were Quidditch trials?" asked Remus. James grunted and piled meat on his plate with more force than necessary. "That bad, huh?"

"So, who is it?" Peter wanted to know.

"Emmeline Vance," said James shortly.

"Emmeline Vance…" repeated Sirius. "Sounds familiar. What is she, second year? Third?"

"Second," said James through a mouthful of green beans.

"Come on, she can't be _that _bad," said Remus optimistically.

"She is completely effing blind," James said, an edge on his voice. "Can't see a damn thing. She nearly knocked Natalia Moore off her broom. I don't care if her whole blasted family dies—if Lester doesn't haul her ass back to school by the Ravenclaw match then we're more screwed than Peter on a Transfiguration exam."

"Hey!" said Peter indignantly. "I do okay in Transfiguration!"

"Peter, last week you glued Lulu Cao and Sofia Lin together when you were supposed to be Transfiguring a candlestick," said James, his voice still harsher than usual.

"I said 'okay,' not 'great,'" Peter mumbled, and Sirius laughed.

"If she's so terrible then why did Orwell let her on?" Sirius asked.

"Because everyone else was worse," James told them darkly, punctuating his statement by stabbing his meat with his fork. "Why do people come to Quidditch trials when they can't even stay upright on their broomsticks?"

"Beats me, mate," said Sirius. "Hey, this'll cheer you up—what do you say we break out the old Invisibility Cloak again?"

"Sh!" hissed James. "Don't go shouting things like that!"

"Sorry." Sirius lowered his voice. "So how about it?"

"And do what, break into the Slytherin common room again?" said Remus. "We nearly got caught last time, and you can call me a pansy all you want but I do not find a dungeon full of angry Slytherins very appealing at all."

"No, no, I've got something better," said Sirius excitedly. He leaned in the table and motioned for his friends to listen in closer. Lowering his voice again, he said, "Let's go to the Forbidden Forest."

Peter, James, and Remus stared at him, and then at each other, and then back at Sirius.

"Yeah, okay, instead of invading the territory of angry Slytherin students, let's invade the territory of angry unknown monsters," said Remus, returning to his food with a shake of his head.

"I dunno, Sirius…" said Peter hesitantly. "I mean, it _is _the Forbidden Forest. Emphasis on the _Forbidden_."

"I think it's brilliant," said James. "Let's do it." Remus spat out a mouthful of corn.

"Excuse me, are you two stupid?"

"What, are you scared?" challenged Sirius, and Remus put down his fork.

"Of _course_ I'm scared, you idiot, do you know what's _in_ there? Acromantulas, and Centaurs, and Merlin knows what else! This isn't just some field trip to the Slytherin dorms, this is something that could legitimately kill us!"

"Come on, Remus, nothing's worth doing without a bit of risk!" said James, his eyes bright.

"This isn't a 'bit of risk,'" said Remus. "This is possibly the worst idea in the history of bad ideas."

"And we _do_ have that Charms essay due on Monday," Peter reminded them. "Plus Remus has tons of make-up work to do, so…"

"Fine, whatever you want," said Sirius offhandedly, leaning back and folding his arms. "You two can do your homework, while James and I do awesome things in the Forbidden Forest."

"And be sure you do a good job, because we'll need to copy those essays tomorrow," James added. Remus groaned and put his head in his hands.

* * *

They were back in the dormitory, later that night, and James and Sirius were pulling on sweaters and shoes, the Invisibility Cloak lying on James' bed. Remus was lying in his own bed, watching the other two silently, his face impossible to read.

"Quit staring like that," said Sirius. "People could get the wrong idea."

"You two are idiots," Remus replied. Sirius and James looked at each other, as though trying to figure out what Sirius had said that was idiotic. "I just want it on record that I think you two are idiots."

"And _I_ just want it on record that I think you are a killjoy," said James lightly, picking up the Cloak. "Right, I think that's everything. And you'll be there to open the portrait hole for us?"

"Maybe if you're lucky," said Remus. James and Sirius shrugged and threw the Cloak over themselves.

"Last chance, Peter," said James' bodiless voice.

"Yeah…maybe next time," said Peter.

"Alright, Pete, let's do this essay." Remus picked up his backpack and motioned for Peter to follow him out of the dormitory. All four left the dormitory, and the memory faded into nothing.

* * *

The memory re-surfaced almost instantly. Remus and Peter were making their way towards an empty table by the fire. The common room was about half-full—by Remus' watch, it was ten o'clock.

"Hey, mind if I sit here?" asked Lily, a little nervously. "I mean, I'm doing Flitwick's essay, too, so…"

"Yeah, whatever you want, Evans," shrugged Remus, pulling a roll of parchment out of his bag while Peter opened his Charms textbook.

"It's good to have you back," said Lily. "Black and Potter are almost unbearable when you're not there to tell them to shut up every so often."

"You'd be surprised how little they listen to me," said Remus.

"Speaking of which, where are they?" asked Lily, looking around the common room.

"Doing something stupid," Remus grumbled. "Evans, can I borrow your Charms notes from last week? Peter's are unreadable and James and Sirius played hangman all over theirs."

"Sure," said Lily, rummaging in her bag for the notes. "You didn't miss much—all we've done since you were gone is charm kitchen utensils so they dance with each other." She handed Remus a neatly headed piece of parchment, which he accepted.

"I still don't see how that's practical," said Peter.

"Hey, guys!" Marlene McKinnon sat next to Lily. She was talking very fast. "What is up? Remus Lupin, good to have you back! You look…kind of horrible, but I mean that in the _nicest _way possible. And Percy—"

"Peter."

"Peter, always a pleasure. Oh, are you working on your Charms essays?" Marlene asked in mock-surprise. She grabbed Lily's and held it above her head so Lily couldn't reach it. "I was thinking of starting mine tonight, too—God, Lily, you've hardly written anything! Don't be such a procrastinator! I'll bet Lupin's got _his_ finished—no? Well, thanks for the chat, I'm gonna go find Alice."

"Does she _ever_ do her own homework?" chuckled Remus.

"I doubt it," said Lily. "I don't let her copy stuff anymore, but the number of times she's paid Ravenclaws for their essays…"

"Sounds like Sirius," said Peter. "So, what exactly _is_ Rutherford's Second Law of Counter-Charms?" He gestured to the heading of his essay, and Lily launched into a full explanation, pointing to bullet points on the parchment of notes she had given Remus from time to time. Peter was scribbling on his parchment as fast as his hand would go, barely looking up from the table, and pausing only when Lily drew breath. Harry smirked when he saw Marlene at the next table over, scrawling Lily's lecture word-for-word on her own parchment.

Harry, bored with this talk of schoolwork, decided to roam around the common room as far as the invisible force field keeping him within the realms of Lily's memory would allow. Harry saw the unmistakable teenage version of Arthur Weasley, wearing a Prefect badge and laughing with a group of fifth years, while stealing glances at a red-haired girl—Molly!—who was sitting with a boy Harry recognized as Prewett from the Quidditch try-outs. He realized suddenly that this had to be one of her older brothers, Gideon or Fabian.

Linnea Orwell, the Gryffindor Keeper and newly-appointed Quidditch captain, was sitting in a corner, drawing up endless diagrams and looking as though she would very much like to rip out all of her hair. A seventh year that Harry recognized as Kingsley Shacklebolt had fallen asleep with his head on his Potions textbook and a few second year boys were now charming wads of paper to hit him on the head. Alice Callahan and Mary Macdonald were building a house of cards with a pack of Exploding Snap cards, and Mary nearly fell off her chair when the tower exploded. An old issue of the _Daily Prophet_ lay on the floor, and the headline caught Harry's attention: _New Clues in the Lester Murder_.

Being completely transparent, Harry could not pick the newspaper up, so instead, he sat down on the ground to read it:

_Three weeks after Julianna Lester's well-publicized murder, the Ministry has had very little to show as far as results of the investigation. However, Ministry officials have reported a certain trend in crime victims over the past month: Annika Holst, a Muggle-born employee of Zonko's Joke Shop was admitted into St. Mungo's Hospital last week after an unidentified man hexed her as she closed the shop (although Healers tell the _Prophet_ that she will make a full recovery). Bradley Ingram, also a Muggle-born, was ambushed outside the Muggle entrance to the Ministry of Magic on his way home from work. He, too, remains in St. Mungo's in critical condition. _

_Though discrimination among Muggles and Muggle-borns has been prevalent for generations, Ministry officials regard this series of attacks as more than just racism. _

_"This isn't just graffiti or propaganda," remarked Kevin Whalen of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. "A woman died and several others are very lucky to have survived the attacks. If the perpetrator isn't caught in due course, we may have the makings of a genocide on our hands." _

_The Department of Magical Law Enforcement has been (continued on page eight)_

Harry, unable to turn the pages of the newspaper, had no choice but to stop reading. If only all these kids knew what was in store for them in a few years…Alice Callahan, Frank Longbottom, Gideon and Fabian Prewett, Marlene McKinnon, and even Lily...eight or nine more years were all they had. Harry watched the whole common room talking and laughing and stressing over homework and felt sick to his stomach. More than half of them would never live to see their children get their Hogwarts letters.

The portrait hole burst open and Harry looked up in time to see Sirius, covered in sweat and dirt, clutching his sweater to a bleeding wound on his arm, racing through the common room to where Remus and Peter were still listening intently to Lily. Many students looked around, whispering to each other--Sirius definitely knew how to make an entrance. Harry glided over to them in time to here Sirius say,

"Evans, get lost."

"What _happened _to you? Where've you been?" she demanded, completely disregarding Sirius's words and looking in alarm at his blood-gushing arm.

"Go away, you have friends, don't you?" he snapped. She gave him a dirty look, gathered up her books, and joined Alice and Mary.

"What's happened? Where's James?" Remus demanded in a low voice.

"He's down by Hagrid's, in the pumpkin patch" said Sirius quickly. "Come on, I need your help." He tossed the Invisibility Cloak at him.

"What's going on, Sirius?" Peter asked.

"It's James, he's hurt really bad," said Sirius, throwing the Cloak over Remus. "We got attacked. I need you to help me bring him up to the hospital."

**A/N: **You guys are so rediculously cool that I decided to write/post this early! So thanks to deisegirl, -EHWIES, DistractedButSerious, Her-mee-own, FallingForFoote (who left me the nicest review I have ever gotten!), wishfulthinking123, Jessluvsharry, MissJoline, and prongster. I hope I've been able to respond to all of your reviews...but sometimes I lose track of who I've responded to. I'm sorry...I really appreciate all of your feedback. Thanks for sticking with this story--I know a few of the chapters have been a bit mediocre, but I think they're improving. First year is going to end in about three more chapters, so don't worry, we'll be getting to the good stuff soon. I can't wait until fifth year--you would not believe the shit I have in store for you! Last night I got this huge inspiration for a chapter in late fifth year/early sixth year, and I am so excited about it I just kind of want to post it now. But I won't. you'll just have to wait :(.

Wow, that's a long authors note. Review. Please. After I update, I sit at the computer and press the refresh button until a review pops up. That is how lame I am.

-Dem


	10. Chapter Nine: Bad News and Inconsistence

**A/N: **Beware of strong language in this chapter!

**Chapter Nine: **Bad News and Inconsistencies

It was dark, except for a dim light from Hagrid's window, and the trees in the forest behind Harry whistled ominously as the wind blew through them. Harry looked around wildly for James, but he was nowhere to be found. He wondered briefly if he was under the Invisibility Cloak, but no…Sirius had it with him…

Harry heard James before he saw him—weak moans were coming from the pumpkin patch. James was lying in the mud with the sprouting pumpkins, covered in blood and muck. His hair was stuck to his face, his left arm was off at an unpleasant angle, and with every breath he winced. He wasn't wearing his glasses.

Harry dropped down beside his father. The edges of Hagrid's hut were becoming fuzzy. Where were the other Marauders? He had to remind himself that James was going to be perfectly fine, that it would be completely impossible for him to die right then and there, but there was so much blood…where were they?

Footsteps. Harry's head snapped up in time to see Remus throw off the Cloak and sprint towards Hagrid's hut.

"Where is he, Sirius?" he called over his shoulder.

"I left him in the pumpkin patch!" Sirius shouted back, stuffing the Cloak into his pocket with his good arm while Peter puffed breathlessly behind them. Remus tripped over several roots before stumbling across James.

"James!" he lightly slapped James' face. "James, can you hear me?"

James groaned meekly.

"God dammit, Sirius, you are such a fucking idiot," said Remus darkly once Sirius had dropped down next to him.

"I know, I know, later, okay?" said Sirius hastily. "Let's get him up to the hospital wing and then you can rant all about how irresponsible I am."

The memory flickered.

"—and me and Peter will get his legs." Remus nodded, grabbing James under the arms while Peter held his legs. Sirius, with only one functioning arm, supported James's legs to relieve Peter of some of the weight. They stood and walked back to the castle as fast as they dared. James moaned when they picked him up and Harry knew that if he had the strength, he would be screaming.

The memory flickered again.

When it resurfaced, they were slightly farther up the grounds, but the outlines of Remus, Peter, and Sirius were fuzzier than ever. They did not, as Harry would have expected, go in through the front doors, but instead crept around the side of the castle. They put James down as Remus lit his wand, scanning the stone wall.

"Hurry!" said Peter, looking panicked. By the wandlight, Harry saw that Remus' face was even more abnormally pale than it had been a few hours ago. After a few more moments, Remus put his hand on the stone wall, extinguished his wand, and tapped it seven times. The wall opened to reveal a passageway, which Remus, Sirius, and Peter carried James through. They pushed through a tapestry and ended up in the Charms corridor. The memory was now so fuzzy that Harry couldn't tell the difference between Sirius and Remus.

The memory flickered again, but this time when it resurfaced, Harry realized that more time had elapsed than it had the other times this had happened. Remus was knocking on the door of the hospital wing.

"She's not answering!" said Peter frantically while Sirius hissed a steady stream of "Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck" under his breath.

"No shit, Peter," snapped Remus. He banged on the door with his fist. "Madame Burton! Help, please, we need help!" James moaned and the memory flickered again.

"For Merlin's sake, Sirius, keep him awake!" Remus yelled.

"How?!" Sirius demanded.

"What is the meaning of this?" A woman who looked to be in her mid-sixties was standing in the doorway and wearing a puce dressing gown. Her eyes found James. She whipped out her wand and levitated James through the door and onto an empty bed in the infirmary.

"Poppy!" she called to a woman distributing medicine to a boy with boils all over his face. "Poppy, go get Minerva. You'll be in Gryffindor, right?" she shot at Sirius, who nodded quickly. "You'd best lay down, too—that looks nasty." She gestured at Sirius' flesh wound. He shook his head.

"It's fine, it's not that bad—"

"Lay down." She forced Sirius onto the bed next to James. She conjured a goblet full of smoking potion and tipped it down James' throat. He coughed and sputtered, but once the potion went down, he fell asleep and the memory slowly dissolved into blackness.

James was blinking groggily, clearly just waking up. The sun was shining through the window of the infirmiry—it had to be near lunchtime. Sirius was sleeping on a chair next to James' bed, mouth open and mumbling occasionally. James reached across his bedside table, searching for his glasses, but they weren't there. He yawned hugely.

"Sirius? Sirius!"

Sirius jumped in his seat, jolted out of his sleep by James' voice.

"Wha—" he blinked, looking around, and his eyes found his newly awake friend. "James!" he sounded relieved. "Hold on, let me get the others." He reached into

the pocket of his robes and pulled out a mirror. A very familiar looking mirror…

"Remus Lupin!" Sirius said clearly to the mirror, and for a few seconds he was left staring at his own reflection before Remus' face replaced it.

"What?" he asked.

"He's up," said Sirius, and Remus' face vanished. He reached into the pocket of his robes and pulled out a pair of glasses. "Here. I found your spares in your trunk."

"Thanks." James put them on and rubbed his eyes with his right hand—his left was still in a sling. "What happened?"

"Don't you remember?" said Sirius, now looking worried.

"I remember getting attacked, and you dragging me out of the Forest," said James, his eyebrows furrowed. "And then you came back down to the pumpkin patch with…with Remus and Peter and brought me back up here. Bits of it, anyways." He rubbed his head. "How long have I been here?"

"Four days," replied Sirius. "We've been taking it in turns to stay up here with you. Remus and Pete are—"

As if on cue, the door opened and Peter and Remus entered the hospital wing, but they weren't alone: Linnea Orwell was close behind.

"Hey, guys," said James, smiling weakly. He looked at Linnea confusedly, as though trying to figure out why she was there. "Linnea…uh, hi."

"Are you alright?" she asked anxiously, but when James nodded her expression hardened.

"James Potter what the _hell_ were you thinking?" she shouted, and James winced. "The Forbidden Forest, I ask you. What could have _possibly_ possessed you to go in there?"

"It was Sirius's idea," James mumbled, but far from calming Linnea, this sentence had the opposite effect.

"You are the world's biggest _prat_, you know that? Do you have any idea how much stress I'm under? Now we're down a decent Seeker _and_ a Chaser, the match against Ravenclaw is next week, and that's not _nearly _enough time to replace you and make Vance decent, plus I've got N.E.W.T's to study for and McGonagall is breathing down my neck—"

"Linnea, calm down," said James, looking alarmed. "What do you mean, replace me? I'm fine, I can still play." James wiggled his slung left arm as though this would prove that he was fit to play in the match. Linnea stopped, looking at Remus, Peter, and Sirius.

"You haven't told him yet?" asked Linnea softly.

"I was just getting 'round to it," said Sirius bracingly.

"Tell me what?" said James, and now it was his turn to look anxious.

"Well…erm…" Sirius rubbed the back of his head. "Remus?"

"Oh, no," said Remus, taking a step back. "This is _your_ fault and I will take no part in telling him."

Sirius looked anxious, too. "Okay, now James, you have to promise not to freak out," he said, scooting his chair a little further from James' bed.

"Why would I freak out?" asked James quickly. "What's going on?"

"Okay…so after we brought you in, we tried to make it out that we'd had a duel and it went badly," said Sirius, "but Madame Burton didn't buy it, and she brought McGonagall up here. She took one look at you and knew pretty much what had happened, and eventually she got the truth out of us, and McGonagall was off the _wall_. We've both got detention for a month, plus a hundred points taken from Gryffindor, and…" Sirius hesitated.

"And _what_?" demanded James.

"And…you're off the Quidditch team for the year." Sirius said this very quickly, looking apprehensive. He stepped back behind Remus and flinched when James raised his hand, but it was only to run it through his hair. He looked dumbstruck.

"I…no…" He seemed to be incapable of forming a full sentence. "But…"

"We know what you mean, mate," said Sirius sympathetically.

"I don't," said Peter. James ignored him.

"A—are you serious?" James spluttered.

"Sorry, mate," said Sirius.

"But I—I—" James' face, which had been paling before, was now turning red. "You mean to tell me that I get _attacked_ and now I'm kicked off Quidditch?!"

"How can you be like that? It was entirely your fault!" Linnea exclaimed.

"What is going on over here?" Madame Burton bustled out of her office. "You're up! Good, jolly good…all of you, out!" She pushed them away from James' bed. "He's just woken up and now you are getting him riled up—"

"I'm not riled up, I'm fine!" said James a little too loudly.

"For Merlin's sake, Mr. Potter, sit _down_." She pushed James' shoulders forcefully back onto the bed. "You can scream all you want once I've released you."

"When can I leave?"

"Tonight," she replied. "I just want to make sure there are no lasting effects of the attack."

"Great," said James grumpily, slumping back on his pillows. "Just great."

When the next memory materialized, Harry was standing in the Transfiguration corridor, where James and Sirius were leaning against the wall, looking extremely pleased with themselves. They were surrounded by several Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff girls, and Harry even noticed Marlene McKinnon looking on with curiosity. The other Gryffindor girls were nowhere to be seen. Remus and Peter were off to the side, looking annoyed.

"And so then I pulled out my wand," James said casually, demonstrating the act. "And I said to the Centaurs, 'You'd better stay back or else,' and one of them charged at Sirius, so I shot a Stinging Hex at him." Several of the girls gasped. "He turned to me—"

"—and I did a Jellylegs Jinx before it did too much damage," Sirius continued. "So when the rest of the herd—"

"Well, well, well, aren't you the little _heroes_," sneered Snape, and two boys Harry recognized as his roommates laughed.

"Yes, we are, aren't we?" said Sirius lightly, and the girls giggled.

"That's not what I heard," drawled Snape.

"Nobody cares what you heard, Snivellus," James snapped. Snape ignored him and smirked.

"I heard that you were attacked by a rampaging unicorn." He ran a hand through his greasy hair in an imitation of James and then surreptitiously wiped it off on his robes.

"That's—ridiculous," Sirius stammered lamely.

"That's right, ladies," drawled one of Snape's friends—Avery. "You're big, bad Gryffindors couldn't even hold their own against a harmless _unicorn_."

"Unicorns aren't _harmless_—or did you miss the gigantic horns on—" James spat, but Sirius put a hand over his mouth and pushed him backwards.

"You have no idea what you're talking about," Sirius growled.

"Oh, I don't, do I?" said Snape lightly. "I overheard McGonagall telling your Quidditch captain. Or was _she_ mistaken?"

"Shut up or you'll regret it," muttered Sirius darkly.

"Will I?" Snape drew his wand, but James shouted, "_Expelliarmous!" _and Snape's wand flew out of his hand and the force of the spell combined with Snape's small stature forced him back. He hit the wall.

Avery and the other Slytherin drew their wands and began to advance on James and Sirius, who were now shooting each other apprehensive looks. Remus drew his own wand and faced the Slytherins.

"What, gonna hex me?" sneered Avery. "As if you could. The great James Potter, Quidditch hero and Centaur master doesn't even have the nerve to properly hex anyone, even when his opponents are outnumbered." James' jaw was set.

"James," Remus muttered, "you've got a months' worth of detentions already, don't do anything stupid."

James stared at Avery, but slowly put his wand back in his pocket.

"C'mon," he said to Sirius and Remus. "He's not worth it." Sirius and Remus nodded and they picked up their bags.

"What, are you a coward?" Avery jeered. "Where's that Gryffindor courage you keep going on about?"

"Keep walking," Remus whispered. "Keep your head. It's what he wants—"

But a jet of blue light whizzed through James' hair, narrowly missing him. James threw his wand aside and jumped on Avery, who was so shocked he fell over. James pounded his face while Avery attempted to throw him off, amid screams from the girls, and Sirius, Marlene, and Peter's cheering.

There was a loud _bang_ and everyone stopped. Professor McGonagall was standing in the doorway of her classroom. She wrenched James and Avery apart, both of whom were sporting bloody noses.

"Twenty points from Gryffindor and Slytherin!" she shouted.

"But professor, he attacked me!" James protested thickly, trying to stem the flow of his nose on his robes.

"I took points from both Houses, didn't I?" McGonagall said angrily. "Get inside. Go to class, all of you!"

"It could've been worse," said Sirius bracingly, and James nodded as they entered the classroom and the memory faded once more.

**A/N: **Yes, you are supposed to be confused as to what happened in the Forest, but don't worry, it will become clear soon...on another note, I got 17 reviews for the last chapter! 17! That's the most I've ever gotten for one chapter. You guys are amazing. Again. So that means thanks to RainingRain (cool pen name, btw!), Hikari-and-Akari, -EHWIES, DistractedButSerious, wishfulthinking123, xsinglovelivedancex, Her-mee-own, Cassie Rita Marie, lilyjames4ever15004, FallingForFootie, the sudoku kid, deisegirl, Twistyler, prongster, Jessluvsharry, Kira2667, and EatenByFlowersAndStillLaughing! Did I mention I love you guys?

Also, I have a question for you: first year is drawing to a close, and I was wondering if you wanted me to break up the story into sequels for each year (each year would be in a different story) or just have one massive fic? Please don't forget to review! It makes me so very happy...

-Dem


	11. Chapter Ten: Wagers and Disappointments

Chapter Ten: Wagers and Disappointments

"Okay, I am going to go over this with you _one more time_."

Lily, Marlene, Mary, and Alice were sitting in the Great Hall, eating lunch and wearing liberal amounts of Gryffindor colors. While Lily was simply wearing a Gryffindor scarf and sweater, Marlene and Mary were wearing what Harry judged to be every piece of Gryffindor paraphernalia they owned. Marlene was even sporting several anti-Ravenclaw badges pinned to her sweater. Harry looked down the table; sure enough, the Gryffindor Quidditch team, already dressed in Quidditch robes, were eating. Well, not eating, Harry thought. More like staring at their food and looking slightly green. Linnea Orwell was sitting at the end of the table, dark circles under her eyes and looking as though she would like nothing more than to throw up. Marlene pointed her spoon at Lily and Harry directed his attention back to their conversation.

"There are seven players on each side," she explained slowly and clearly.

"Seven players, got it."

"Good. Now what positions do they play?"

Lily furrowed her brow, thinking hard. "Um…there's a Keeper, who guards the goal posts…"

"Yes, that's one."

"There are three Chasers and they…er…chase the bludgers?"

Marlene hid her face in her hands and groaned while Mary rolled her eyes.

"No, the Chasers handle the Quaffle and _score_. The _Beaters_ hit the bludgers away from the players on their team and towards the other team in hopes one of them will be knocked off their broom or something else equally nasty."

"That sounds horrible," said Lily flatly, taking a bite of her toast.

"Lily, it's a good thing you're smart, 'cause you're rubbish at sports," Marlene said, shaking her head.

"Fat lot of use that's gonna do once you've been murdered by a bludger," Lily grumbled. Marlene threw a muffin at her. "And I'll have you know that I'm rather decent at football."

"Football?" Marlene repeated, laughing. "Isn't that the mad game where Muggles kick a ball around a field for ages and try to put it in a goal?"

"Yes, and it's not a _mad_ game," said Lily, sounding as though it was a bit rich for Marlene to be calling football mad in comparison to a game played on broomsticks. "It's very exciting."

"Are there bludgers?" asked Marlene.

"No, of course not, it's a Muggle sport!"

"Then it's boring," Marlene decided, as though this was final. "Nothing's exciting unless you have bludgers." Lily shook her head.

"C'mon, let's get going," said Mary, standing up. "We want good seats!"

They walked down to the Quidditch pitch, chatting about things Harry didn't really care about. About halfway down to the pitch, someone called Lily's name.

"Lily!"

The girls and Harry turned around. It was Snape. Lily waved him over, and Marlene groaned, while Alice and Mary exchanged shifty looks.

"No, Lily, not him," she implored. "Please. Not today. Today is a good day."

"Shut up, Marlene," Lily told her. "Be nice."

"But Lily, he's such a _creeper_," she whined. "He's always following you around and staring at you and I don't think he _showers_." Lily turned slightly pink.

"He's not a creeper," said Lily quietly; Snape was nearly level with them. "He doesn't _follow_ me, we're friends. And he doesn't stare, and he just…has naturally oily hair."

"It's not just me!" said Marlene. "Mary hates him, too."

"Mary!"

"I never said I _hated_ him!" said Mary defensively. "I—he's just—"

"Oh, you're useless," Marlene snapped, but Lily stood on her foot. Snape had reached them.

"Hey, Sev!" she said happily, ignoring Marlene's glares and Mary and Alice's refusal to make eye contact. She nudged her friends in the ribs.

"Snape," said Marlene stiffly. Alice waved.

"McKinnon," Snape replied, just as stiffly. Lily rolled her eyes but seemed to find this satisfactory, and they walked on.

"So will you be supporting Ravenclaw or Gryffindor?" Lily asked Snape.

"Definitely Ravenclaw," said Snape.

"Oh, really?" Lily raised her eyebrows jokingly. "Not Gryffindor, the House of your best friend in the whole wide world?" Mary, Marlene, and Alice exchanged annoyed looks.

"Nope, not Gryffindor," Snape joked back. "As _lovely_ as you are, not even the wonderful Lily Evans can erase centuries of prejudice and rivalry."

Marlene actually gagged, and Harry even saw Alice roll her eyes.

"I suppose that's true," said Lily. "However, one can only dream…" Snape laughed.

They had reached the pitch.

"Well, I'd better leave," said Snape, gesturing to the Slytherin side of the pitch. Lily nodded cheerfully.

"See you after the match?"

"Sure," said Snape happily, and as Lily and her friends turned to enter the Gryffindor stands, Harry actually saw him skip a little.

The pitch was almost when they settled themselves in a suitable place in the stands on the Gryffindor side to the tune of endless streams of insults from Marlene.

"He's pathetic," Marlene was saying. "He's a twisted little creep and e practically worships you! I'll bet he's got a…a bloody Lily Evans _shrine_ under his _bed_—"

"You're one to talk," Lily interrupted.

"What? I don't _worship _you," said Marlene. "Quite the opposite, actually."

"_You're_ friends with Black and Potter," said Lily pointedly.

"We're acquaintances," Marlene corrected. "Just because you don't hate the curses out of someone doesn't make you friends. And in case you haven't noticed, Black and Potter don't stalk me."

"Lily, I'm with Marls on this one," said Alice uneasily. "How do you stand Snape? I'm sorry, I've tried to like him, honest, but I don't get it."

"You don't have to get it," said Lily simply. "He told me about the wizarding world. He's really sweet. He cares about me, and I care about him. I know we're different, but it's just that simple."

"Well, isn't that adorable."

Lily swirled around. It was James, with Sirius, Remus, and Peter in tow.

"Sit somewhere else, Potter," Lily snapped.

"Love to, but I can't, Evans," said James lightly, sweeping his hair out of his eyes with a flick of his hand. "See, there's nowhere else to sit. But rest assured, being in your presence is a last resort."

"The feeling is mutual," Lily bit back. She turned around and sat on the bleachers between Mary and Alice.

"Care to wager on the outcome of the match, McKinnon?" asked Sirius, jangling what sounded like a large amount of gold in his pocket.

"Love to," replied Marlene, feeling in her own pockets for gold. "What are the odds on a Ravenclaw win?" James gaped at her.

"Against your own _House_, McKinnon?" he demanded.

"Potter, I love Gryffindor and everything, but we kind of suck," she told him.

"We do not!" Peter piped up.

"Our star Seeker went MIA and our third Chaser is a prat and got himself a Quidditch ban—" she stopped here and glared pointedly at James, who shifted uncomfortably "–resulting in the two of them being replaced by a blind bat and, if you'd believe it, an even _bigger_ prat than this one over here," said Marlene flatly, feeling around in her pockets for gold. "Does that sound like the makings of a winning team? Crap, I think I'm broke…"

"That's alright," said Sirius, undaunted. "Gold is not the only method of payment." Marlene cocked her head to the side, intrigued.

"What did you have in mind?"

"Loser is the other's personal slave for the rest of the day," Sirius replied, smiling mischievously. Marlene looked tempted.

"Hm, _interesting_," she smirked, but Alice tugged on the sleeve of her robes.

"Marls, are you sure about this?" she asked in a low voice.

"Of course I'm sure," said Marlene. "It's Black that's got to be worried." She straightened up and spoke directly to Sirius again. "Terms and conditions?"

"Enslavement lasts until midnight tonight, no back-outs, no limits," said Sirius automatically, extending his hand for her to shake. It was plain to Harry that he had planned out this whole scenario in advance. Marlene thought about it for a minute and nodded, shaking Sirius' hand.

"I look forward to enslaving you," he said. Marlene laughed as though she thought Gryffindor had no chance in hell of winning this, and turned back around without a reply.

"You're an idiot," Lily told her bluntly.

"An idiot with her own personal slave," Marlene corrected happily, and Lily shook her head. Before the conversation could continue, however, a loud voice echoed through the stands, announcing the beginning of the match.

"Welcome, staff and students of Hogwarts," boomed the voice of the girl, "to the third match of the season: Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw!" Cheers erupted from the stands so loud that Lily actually jumped a little. The commentator's voice was barely audible over the din. "Playing for Gryffindor—" The Gryffindor side of the pitch (and even a few Hufflpuffs) screamed again, while Marlene was the sole Gryffindor booing—"Orwell, Prewett, Leagan, Callum, Moore, Rielly, and Vance!" The screaming intensified as the players walked onto the pitch, accompanied by jeers from the Slytherins and Ravenclaws. "Playing for Ravenclaw…Brannett, Wood, Reeves, Chang, Stills, Knopf, and Richardson!" This time the Gryffindors were jeering—James, Sirius, and Mary particularily loudly while Marlene "booed" with the Slytherins and Ravenclaws. Mary kicked her.

"Captains, shake hands!" shouted Madame Hooch from the pitch. Linnea Orwell and Brannett, the Ravenclaw captain, shook hands. "Mount your brooms!" She blew her whistle and everyone kicked off, while students (and some teachers) in the stand cheered deafeningly loudly.

"And they're off!" shouted the commentator. "It's Prewett of Gryffindor with the Quaffle! Prewett passes to Leagan—ooh, close call, nice bludger from Knopf!—Leagan still in possession—fakes a pass to Callum, but passes back to Prewett! Leagan dodges another bludger, but he's far off, looks like it'll be the first test for Callum, who will be replacing Potter as Chaser after some mishap in the Forbidden Forest involving what _I _heard to be a rampaging unicorn, though there have been rumors of centaur involvement—"

"The match, Skeeter, the match!" shouted Professor McGonagall. Harry's head turned so fast he heard his neck crick. Sure enough, sitting a few rows below was a teenaged Rita Skeeter, her hair as elaborately curled as Harry had ever seen it.  
"Right, well, Callum dropped the Quaffle about a minute ago, so now Brannett's got it—oh, now he's passed to Reeves, who ducks an easy bludger from Moore. Maybe if she spent as much time on her aim as she does in a broom closet with Walter Wagner then maybe Gryffindor would have a shot at—"

"SKEETER, THIS IS A QUIDDITCH MATCH, NOT A GOSSIP MAGAZINE!" McGonagall shouted. Rita's lip curled, and she continued smoothly:

"Maria Reeves of Ravenclaw with the Quaffle, and she's speeding towards Gryffindor Keeper! She shoots, and—YES! Ten-zero, Ravenclaw!" Ravenclaws and Slytherins jumped up and down in the stands, accompanying their screams. Marlene McKinnon turned around to face Sirius.

"Worried yet, Black?"  
"Not a bit," Sirius replied lightly, and she smirked as she turned back around to see the game, where Rita Skeeter was now "commentating" on Linnea Orwell's miss. "And there goes another goal to Ravenclaw! Once the top Keeper at Hogwarts, by the looks of this game, she's peaked early. Orwell has replaced Lester as captain, and it looks like she's cracking under the strain…"

Harry had to agree with her there—every time he had seen Linnea over the past few weeks she had been looking closer and closer to a nervous breakdown. But when he looked up at the goal posts, he saw a very different Linnea Orwell than the one he had seen before. She seemed unfazed by Rita Skeeter's jibes, and was now shouting at Callum, who had just dropped the Quaffle again.

"—and the Quaffle is caught by Dennis Wood of Ravenclaw, who passes to Reeves, and back to Brannett, who shoots—and—oh, damn, Orwell saves it. Well, I suppose you've got to get lucky _sometimes_—"

"RITA SKEETER, IF YOU CAN NOT ANNOUNCE THE MATCH IN AN IMPARTIAL FASHION THEN YOU WILL BE REMOVED FROM YOUR POST!" shouted McGonagall shrilly. Rita Skeeter appeared to not register this outburst and continued on over her.

"Gryffindor in possession! It's Ethan Leagan with the Quaffle, ducks a bludger from Chang, passes to Prewett, back to Leagan—and he's going for a goal—damn, Knopf misses and Gryffindor scores. The score is now 10-10…"

"Not so confident now, are we, McKinnon?" Sirius whispered in Marlene's ear. She elbowed him in the ribs and he straightened back up to watch the match.

Linnea Orwell blocked four more goals, and Ethan Leagan scored once, bringing the score up to 20-10 in Gryffindor's favor.

"The Quaffle returns to play in Ravenclaw possession—Wood passes to Brannett, back to Wood, back to Brannett, and Brannett passes to Ree—no, the pass is intercepted by Fabian Prewett of Gryffindor! Prewett drops the Quaffle—nice bludger from Stills—and it looks like Ravenclaw—no, Leagan's caught it. Leagan passes to Callum—seriously? That might be one of the dumbest things I've ever seen on a Quidditch pitch!"

Callum, who had been flying around aimlessly for a few minutes now, had not expected the pass and it had hit him in the face. His hands flew to his nose and he nearly fell off his broom as a slight trickle of blood snaked down into the collar of his Quidditch robes. The Ravenclaws and Slytherins were laughing, and the Gryffindors groaned exasperatedly. James had his face in his hands and looked as though he might cry. Marlene looked very self-satisfied.

"Is he alright?" asked Lily anxiously.

"Who cares? He's a stupid prat!" snapped Sirius. "What kind of idiot catches the Quaffle with his _face_?"

Brannett scored twice, and Linnea Orwell let in two more goals from Reeves, putting the Gryffindors thirty points behind the Ravenclaws. Sirius was beginning to get antsy, Peter was biting his nails, and Remus was shouting at nobody in particular. Rita's voice rang through the stadium clearly as she accidentally-on-purpose dropped snide comments and gossip in the middle of her commentary. The pitch was much more hectic. Linnea's hair was coming out of her ponytail as she shouted at Callum and Rielly, one of the Beaters, and very nearly saved another goal.

"Leagan back in possession of the Quaffle!" Rita Skeeter shouted. "Dodges Brannett, fakes to Prewett—oh, Merlin, that's not—SOMEONE CATCH HIM!"A Ravenclaw Beater had sent a bludger flying at Ethan Leagan, and it hit him in the stomach, causing him to drop the Quaffle and fall backwards off his broom. There was a collective sharp intake of breath from the stands as Rielly and Prewett zoomed downwards to catch Ethan as Linnea Orwell signaled frantically for a time-out. Madame Hooch blew her whistle and stopped the game. Everyone on the pitch touched down.

"Time-out called by Gryffindor Captain Linnea Orwell," announced Rita Skeeter unnecessarily. "Leagan doesn't look too good…Madame Burton's been called down to examine him…"

The screaming and cheering in the stands had been replaced by buzzing and nervous whispering, and even a few laughs from the Slytherin end of the pitch. Lily's hands were covering her mouth, her eyes wide. Alice looked queasy.

"Is he going to be okay?" Lily squeaked.

"He's fine, the stupid pansy," snapped James. "It's just a bludger."

It looked like a little more than just a bludger to Harry. Ethan Leagan was lying on the field, and even from his high place in the stands, Harry could see how pale he was. The rest of the Gryffindors didn't look much better, and even a few Ravenclaws seemed worried. Harry glided down the stands and onto the pitch.

"—needs the hospital wing right away," Madame Burton was saying. Linnea Orwell looked an amusing mix of worry and panic.

"But what will we do for a third Chaser?" she demanded, her voice higher than usual.

"Calm down, Ms. Orwell," said Madame Hooch. "Bring in your reserve Chaser."

"_He's _our reserve Chaser!" Linnea exclaimed, pointing to Callum.

"Right," said Madame Hooch, now looking rather like she was sorry she had said anything at all. "Well, then you can either forfeit or resume play with six players."

"This is ridiculous!" said Linnea desperately. "Ethan can play, he's fine! It was just a bludger—you're alright, aren't you Ethan?"

Ethan groaned.

"Hospital," said Madame Burton with finality, and she levitated Ethan onto a stretcher.

"Leagan has been removed from play!" boomed Rita Skeeter's voice, and the Gryffindors groaned. "It looks like the Gryffindors might have to forfeit the match!" More protests from the Gryffindor side of the pitch rang throughout the stadium as Harry returned to his place with the Gryffindor first years'. Madame Hooch blew her whistle and the players kicked back off. "I don't believe it! They're going to continue play with only two Chasers! Those Gryffindors just don't know when to quit, do they?"

The match resumed with a Gryffindor possession. "Fabian Prewett with the Quaffle!" shouted Rita. "Brannett's closing in on him, Prewett's gonna have to pass—no, he's keeping possession! He shoots—and scores. Gryffindor 30, Ravenclaw 50."

It seemed that Prewett was rather reluctant to pass to Callum, and Harry didn't blame him. The Ravenclaw Chasers, however, were in top form and scored three more times. The Gryffindors were becoming less and less spiritied as the match wore on and it was becoming increasingly obvious that they might not win.

"Nice bludger from Veronica Stills—that's gonna hu—what the hell is Richardson doing?"

The Ravenclaw Seeker was now speeding towards Emmeline Vance, who shrieked and ducked. "He's seen the Snitch!" shouted Rita Skeeter. "Richardson's seem the Snitch! Vance is a little slow on the uptake, but she's on his tail—Richardson's gaining speed—come on, come ON! And…YES! Richardson's got the Snitch! The game is over with a score of 230 to Ravenclaw and 30 to Gryffindor. Wow, that's a bit embarrassing…Looks like the final match of the season will be Ravenclaw versus Slytherin!"

But her last words were drowned in the thunder that was the cheers of the Slytherins and Ravenclaws. The Gryffindors looked…well…defeated. James looked heartbroken, and did barely more than grunt the whole way back to the castle, as Marlene gloated.

"…hope you've already finished _your _Potions essay because you're gonna be spending the next few hours on mine!"

"Shut up, McKinnon," growled Sirius.

"Oh, is somebody a _sore loser_?" asked Marlene mockingly.

"Your own House just got slaughtered and you're _happy_?" demanded Sirius.

"You still my personal slave?" Sirius said nothing for a few seconds and then nodded. "We shook on it, didn't we?"

"Then yes," said Marlene. "Yes, I am."

"Oh, for heaven's sake, it's only a game," snapped Lily to James, who's head snapped up.

"Shut up, Evans, you wouldn't know a Quaffle from a puffskein," he told her shortly, and then picked up his pace and walked ahead of the group.

"What's a puffskein?" Lily mouthed to Mary, and the memory dissolved around them.

**A/N: **Sorry about the rediculously long wait...but this chapter is longer than usual, so yays!!! Okay, next chapter is the LAST CHAPTER OF FIRST YEAR OH MY GOD!!! You guys are freakin' awesome to have stuck with this story, so thanks to Her-mee-own, RainingRain, jedigal125, XsinglovelivedanceX, deisegirl, EatenBy FlowersAndStillLaughing, prongster, Jessluvsharry, Twistyler, DistractedButSerious, FallingForFootie, -EHWIES, wishfulthinking123, the sudoku kid, and Cassie Rita Marie, as well as all the others who are reading this story but not reviewing (*coughcoughcough*).

Also, on a completely different note...I'M ON POTTERCAST! Listen for me on the Seattle episode of their road tour...I'm Erin/girl in the red sweatshirt and I WON!!! Yeah...just thought that was cool...

-Dem


	12. Chapter Eleven: Payback and Parties

**Chapter Eleven: Payback and Parties**

The door to the boys' dormitory swung open with a bang, causing Peter to jump. The rest of the boys turned around in time to see Marlene entering the dormitory, carrying her bag and a scroll of parchment.

"Wha—this is the _boys'_ dormitory, McKinnon!" exclaimed James.

"Although I do see how you could have mistaken Sirius for Mary," said Remus thoughtfully. "He does need a haircut." Peter laughed and Marlene rolled her eyes.

"Here." Marlene threw her bag at Sirius, who was lounging on his bed. There was a muffled "oomph" as the bag hit its mark.

"What's all this?" he demanded, pushing the bag off the bed.

"Prepare to be enslaved, Black," smirked Marlene, balancing herself on the end of Sirius' four-poster and holding one of the posts for support.

"Kinky," said Remus, who was watching this exchange with interest.

"First on my list of demands," said Marlene loudly, "is to write my Potions essay. And don't just copy yours out twice. After your done with that, you can do my laundry, give my owl a bath, paint my toenails—"

"Paint your _toenails_?" Sirius yelped.

"—read and summarize that chapter Flitwick assigned us, chew a piece of Droobles Best Blowing Gum and stick it to Peeves, offer to scrub the bedpans in the hospital wing for Madame Burton—"

"_What_?!"

Marlene spared him a glance and flipped the parchment over. "Tell Professor Merrythought that it was you who glued Avery's hand to his face—"

"That was _you_."

"—organize my Chocolate Frog card collection, find my earrings, go to the library and write, 'Property of Sirius Black, the Worlds' Biggest Prat' in everlasting ink on all of the books on the return shelf—"

"That's _suicide_!"

"—bring my dinner up to me in the common room—my list of favorite foods is right here—and give me everything that's in your pockets right now."

Marlene tossed the parchment to him and held out her hand while Sirius stared dumbly at her. Quite suddenly, James burst out laughing. Sirius threw Marlene's backpack at him.

"Why the bloody _hell_ do you want me to offer to scrub the bedpans?" Sirius demanded hoarsely. Marlene shrugged.

"Just for fun. C'mon, empty your pockets."

Sirius looked at his friends for help, but they offered none. On the contrary, all looked rather amused. Grudgingly he pulled some Sickles, candy wrappers, and a Filibuster firework. Marlene accepted these and checked her watch. "Well, enough chitchat. You'd better get started if your going to finish all of this." She flashed the boys a grin, waved, and left the room.

"She's funny," Remus observed pensively.

"I've had it up to here with your passive-aggressive commentary, Lupin," Sirius snapped. "Can you believe all this?"

"Well, like McKinnon said, you'd better get started," said James lightly. "I'm going down to the Quidditch pitch. See you later."

"Oh, no your not!" said Sirius. "You're gonna help me with this!" James snorted.

"Relax, Sirius," said Peter. "James can't go down to the pitch, anyways. McGonagall confiscated his broom, remember?"

James' grin faded and his face fell, looking as though all his relatives had died.

"Way to go, Peter. You're gonna make him cry."

James mumbled a few incoherent sentences before he climbed back into bed and drew the hangings around himself.

"Remus?" said Sirius hopefully.

"I thought you 'have had it up to here with my passive-aggressive commentary.'" Remus replied swiftly.

"Pete?"

"No, sorry, I'm too busy enjoying not being any of you right now," said Peter, popping a Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Bean into his mouth and then gagging.

Grumbling to himself, Sirius pulled parchment out of Marlene's backpack and fished a quill and ink out of Remus' trunk. He stared at the blank page for a few minutes as though hoping the essay would write itself.

"I don't want to do this," he announced, throwing down his quill.

"You made that stupid bet. You suggested 'personal slave' instead of 'two galleons.' It's your own fault," Remus told him frankly.

"Where is the empathy in this room?" grumbled Sirius.

"James is hogging it," said Remus sarcastically, "but I'll let him know you need it back as soon as he brings himself out of his deep depression."

Sirius glared at him and picked his quill up again. He scratched a few words on the parchment, then crossed them out, and then wrote a few more before scratching them out, too. He put his hand on his forehead and closed his eyes, and then slowly opening them, a grin materializing on his face.

"Finally found some inspiration?" asked Peter.

"You could say that," said Sirius, and his hand raced across the parchment, ink splattering his sheets.

"Since when do you know so much about the properties of Asphodel?" Remus wanted to know. "You can't even spell it." He got up and read over Sirius' shoulder. "'Asphodel is most commonly found in the navels of self-righteous eleven-year-old girls, and it tends to glow in the dark. However, it should not be mixed with water and there have been many reports of aforementioned self-righteous eleven-year-old girls exploding during bubble baths—' Sirius, don't you think Marlene will notice that your essay makes no sense?"

"Please, Marlene doesn't _read_," said Sirius as though this was obvious, and he laughed at the very thought of it. "Besides, she never said it had to be any _good_."

"What happens when she gets it back with a big T on the top?" asked Peter.

"She'll probably yell at me or something," shrugged Sirius, never lifting the quill from the parchment as he continued to write furiously. "She has a P average, this won't change anything. What is she, like seventy pounds? I'm not scared of her."

"You know, this time I'm not going to point out how stupid of an idea this is," said Remus, laying back on his bed. "I'm just going to sit back and watch it all blow up in your face."

"Just the way I like it," said Sirius, rolling up the parchment in a self-satisfied manner.

It was breakfast time and the Gryffindor boys were sitting down at the table in the Great Hall, none of them saying much at all.

"Your sweater is on backwards," Marlene pointed out.

"Well, it's not exactly easy to put your clothes on straight when you've been up all night cleaning bedpans and sticking gum to poltergeists," snapped Sirius, pulling an entire plate of bacon towards him. "Here's your stupid essay." He threw a scroll at her, and she stuffed it in her bag without a second look.

"It was a pleasure doing business with you," she said cheerfully, downing a goblet of pumpkin juice. Lily rolled her eyes, as if to convey that anything involving James and Sirius could hardly be called a pleasure.

"Potter!"

James looked down the table in search of the voice, and a tall, dark-haired boy waved at him. Harry knew he had seen him somewhere, but couldn't quite remember.

"What?"

"Look who's back!"

The dark-haired boy gestured down the table at a girl with tired eyes and stringy hair, but looked happy nonetheless, eating eggs and chatting with Linnea Orwell and Natalia Moore.

"Jordana!" James jumped up and made his way to the end of the table where the three girls were sitting.

"Potter, hey," she said through a mouthful of eggs.

"How are you? I mean, are you alright?"

Jordana Lester shrugged.

"I've been better, but I've been worse. It's good to be back."

"We thought you were gone for the whole semester!" said the dark haired boy—Ethan Leagan, the other Chaser, Harry remembered finally.

"Nah, I have exams." She made a face. "Stupid O.W.L.s, plus I don't want to have to repeat a year…"

"So you'll come back for exams but not for Quidditch?" said James. "We got murdered!"

"Hey, don't put this all on me," she said. "_You're_ the one with the Quidditch ban, and _he_ went and got himself gutted by a bludger. We could have won, even with a substandard Seeker if we had three fit Chasers..." she trailed off, but after a moment continued, her voice stronger than ever. "But not next year. Next year we go all the way!"

"Wish it'd been this year, though," said Linnea Orwell sadly. "Gryffindor's never won the cup while I've been on the team…"

"What are you complaining about? Aren't you about to be signed to Pride of Portee?" demanded Fabian Prewett, the third Gryffindor Chaser.

"Well, yes, but even so…"

The bell rang, and the sound of scraping benches filled the room.

"See you around," James waved, jogging over to his friends and falling into step with them.

"—there's no _way_," Remus was saying. "I mean, Slughorn's great at Potions and all, but I'm pretty sure McGonagall would kick his can."

"Why would she do that?" asked James.

"James! Finally," said Sirius. "_This_ idiot thinks McGonagall could beat Slughorn in a fight."

"Well, she would, wouldn't she?"

"Are you blind? Slughorn would just…I dunno…sit on her, and it would be over."

"Somehow I don't see it happening that way," said Remus, shaking his head.

They entered the dungeon and set up their cauldrons at neighboring tables—Sirius partnered with James, and Remus with Peter.

"Good morning!" boomed Slughorn. "Essays, essays…pass them to the front, please!"

The students dug in their bags for their essays and passed them in, after which Slughorn instructed them to brew a Cough Concoction. He sat down at his desk to grade the essays, accompanied by a box of crystallized pineapple, while the class paired off and got started.

"A Cough Concoction?" Sirius read over the instructions in his Potions book. "That's a stupid potion. I don't want to do it."

"Me neither," said James. "I wish we'd do something interesting for once." He slumped on his stool and poured out the correct amount of pomegranate juice into a cup. Sirius on the other hand dumped out his entire store of caterpillars into the potion.

"What are you doing?!" demanded Remus from the table beside them as the potion turned an ominous shade of purple and bubbled dangerously.

"Something interesting," said Sirius, adding a salamander tail to the mixture.

"Sirius, I don't really think this is such a good idea…" Peter trailed off.

"Probably not," Sirius shrugged as James added a few lacewing flies. The potion turned black.

"What, no lecture, Remus?" asked James, stirring the mixture. There was a sizzle and James removed his stirring rod. It had melted.

"Nope," he replied distantly, focused on his own properly-made potion. "I'm sitting back and watching things blow up in your face now, remember?"

"Ms. McKinnon!" called Slughorn suddenly.

"Yeah?"

"May I have a word with you about your essay?"

Marlene froze halfway through pouring her pomegranate juice. Her eyes snapped to Sirius, who winked at her. Confused, she made her way up to Slughorn's desk.

"What if Marlene tells Slughorn that _you_ wrote the essay?" asked Peter.

"She can't," said Sirius. "If she did, then she'd be admitting that she's cheated."

Harry could tell that Sirius was playing it cooler than he really felt as he watched Slughorn and Marlene. Marlene was stammering, and Harry knew she was trying to explain exactly why she thought that asphodel came from navels. Slughorn did not look impressed. He dismissed her, and Marlene made a beeline for Sirius.

"Hey, McKinnon," he said casually, dumping a few ingredients plainly not on the list into his cauldron. James shifted slightly closer to Remus and Peter's table.

"Well played, Black," she said, smirking.

"I don't know what your talking about," he replied coolly.

"You know, of course, that this means war?"

"Naturally."

She nodded and made her way back to her table.

"Get back over here, you ninny," said Sirius to James. "That wasn't bad at all."

"I can't believe she didn't yell at you," James marveled.

"Well, I _am_ a genius, aren't I?" replied Sirius, and he added a few drops of hellebore to the potion, which promptly exploded.

The memory changed. It was a warm day, the sky was cloudless, and Lily and Snape were sitting by the lake, robes cast aside, under a beech tree.

"It doesn't seem possible that there's only a week of term left," Lily marveled. "It's been such a long year, but at the same time, it's gone by so fast…"

"Yeah, well, we've still got six years left," said Snape. "And we'll see each other all summer, right?"

"Yeah," said Lily. "Every day we can."

"It's too bad we can't do magic outside of school," Snape complained, tossing a stick into the lake. "Then we could give that sister of yours what she deserves." Lily laughed, but immediately covered her mouth.

"Oh, no, that was really wicked," she said, horrified.

"Relax, Lil, nobody heard," said Snape. "Besides, Petunia's acting a little wicked towards you as well."

"She just doesn't know any better," said Lily. Snape suddenly reached over and grabbed her arm with such force that Lily looked slightly alarmed.

"Listen to me," said Snape, and his voice was different. Low and forceful. "She doesn't have any right to treat you like that. Nobody does. Ever. Do you understand me?"

"I—yes," said Lily, though she looked a little shaken. Snape let go and smiled at her, apparently unaware of the change in atmosphere that had just come over both children. Lily now looked very uncomfortable, and was staring at Snape as though he was a completely different person. Harry knew by her reaction that he had never touched her like that before.

"Lily, are you alright?" Snape asked her, his eyes full of concern. "You look odd."

"I'm fine," she said, giving him a false smile.

"Your not wearing your locket," Snape noticed.

"Oh." Lily's hand flew to her chest. "Yeah, I just…"

"Why not?"

"I dunno," she said, looking alarmed again. "I just…didn't wear it today, is all."

"Oh, okay," said Snape, but he looked bothered by this. Lily was looking at Snape in that peculiar way again. Clouds had begun to drift across the sky and Lily reached for her robes.

"It's getting cold," she said. "I'm going inside. See you later."

She walked off as fast as she could without running, leaving Snape behind her at the lake.

"Do you think they'd notice if I took some Firewhisky?" Marlene was asking. Lily, Alice, Mary, and Marlene were standing in a corner of the Gryffindor common room, a party clearly in full swing.

"What?" asked Mary loudly.

"Do you think they'd notice if I took some Firewhisky?" Marlene shouted.

"Are you crazy?" Alice yelled back. "You're eleven!"

"Twelve, actually," said Marlene as if this made a difference. "Come on, Pritchard is like a fourth year and look at _him_!" The girls and Harry followed Marlene's gesture. A fourth-year boy was attempting to leave the portrait hole but kept walking straight into the wall.

"Sometimes you remind me so much of Black," said Lily, shaking her head.

"Let's at least _dance_ or something," Marlene whined.

"I don't think so," Lily told her warily.

"Come _on_, guys!" said Marlene exasperatedly. "It's the last night of term! Let's do something fun for once!"

"Since when is 'fun' synonymous with 'stupid?'" asked Alice.

"Most of these people are so drunk they won't remember anything about this night anyways!" Marlene reasoned, and Lily snorted. "We deserve some fun tonight! We've spent all term studying—"

"_We've_ spent all term studying," Lily corrected, gesturing to Alice, Mary, and herself. "_You've_ spent all term…what the hell _have_ you been doing all term?"

"Being awesome," Marlene smirked. Mary laughed.

"McKinnon!" Sirius said loudly, slinging an arm around her shoulders. "How goes my favorite left-back?"

"I am not a left-back!" Marlene exclaimed indignantly, throwing his arm off.

"But you failed everything!" Sirius laughed.

"I…may have worked something out," said Marlene, a wicked smirk pulling at the corners of her mouth. "And for the record, I got an A in Astronomy."

"What did you do, pay off all the professors?" joked James, who had just appeared behind Lily, causing her to jump.

"Nah, I've just got loads of summer homework." Marlene grimaced. "Beats being a first-year twice, though, right?"

"Hear, hear!" said Sirius heartily, downing his bottle of butterbeer.

"So, you girls doing anything crazy this summer?" asked James, flicking one of Lily's braids. She pushed him.

"My family's going to France," said Alice, "but I'll probably get sunburned the first day or something equally dreadful."

"Very cool," said James. "Evans? Let me guess…does it involve books?"

"What's wrong with reading?" Lily asked indignantly.

"Lily, how many times have I asked you not to say the 'r' word on weekends?" Marlene chastised, and Sirius and James laughed.

"Loosen up, Lil," James said, offering her some of his butterbeer. "Take a sip!"

"I'm not drinking anything with your germs on it," said Lily coolly, pushing the butterbeer away a little more forcefully than necessary, and James slopped half the bottle down himself. Everyone laughed as James took of his sweater and groaned when he saw it had soaked through his shirt.

"I really hate you sometimes, Evans," said James, shaking his head, though he looked amused all the same. Lily laughed.

"Potter, I wouldn't want it any other way," she replied, cracking open a butterbeer.

"Cheers," said James, raising his bottle, "to nine weeks without you!" Lily laughed appreciatively and clinked her bottle against his, and the memory dissolved on the Marauder's first year.

**A/N: **So ends first year! I really like James and Lily in this chapter...they can't have argued with each other ALL the time, right? Plus, it's the end of the year, and everyone's relatively euphoric, and not at all in the mood for a row! That's my explanation, anyways. Thanks to all my AWESOME reviewers, FallingForFootie, RainingRain, Skippy Agogo, lilyjames4ever15004, Dracoisalooker76, wishfulthinking123, -EHWIES, prongster, Twistyler, Jessluvsharry, the sudoku kid, I love ipods, Elegancexx, and Kira 2667! Your reviews make me really really really really happy and they inspire me to keep going even when I'm super busy! See you all for second year!

Love, Erin

Oh, and by the way, due to a unanimous vote, I'm going with one massive fic! Just fyi.


	13. Chapter Twelve: Summer & the Real World

**Chapter Twelve: Summer and the Real World**

Harry was standing in the middle of a field, confused. He looked around, but the Marauders were nowhere to be seen. They had to be here, these were their memories…

"Pete, Pete, pass!"

James' voice. Harry looked around again, but still saw nothing. Were they under the Invisibility Cloak?

He began to walk around, searching for the force fields that kept him in the parameters of the memory. They couldn't be under the cloak. There was no reason. They were in a field in broad daylight.

"Sirius, get it!" Remus' voice shouted. "C'mon, you're bigger than him!"

"Haha! In your _face_—whoops."

Quite suddenly, a bright red ball fell from the sky, and hit Harry on the head. At least, it would have, had he been solid. Instead, the ball went right through is head and body and landed on the ground at his feet.

James zoomed down on his broomstick and Harry instinctively dashed out of the way, though he knew full well that he could not be hurt. James picked the Quaffle back up and returned to playing height. Harry looked up—sure enough, the boys were playing two-a-side Quidditch; Peter and James against Sirius and Remus.

"Hey, it's our possession!" Sirius protested.

"What? You dropped it!" Peter laughed.

"It's still our possession."

"Is not, you complete moron," James told him. "Stop being a sore loser."

Harry laid down on the field and watched the Marauders play Quidditch—if one could call it Quidditch, because the only similarity Harry could see between Quidditch and what the Marauders were doing was broomsticks. True, there was a Quaffle, but about fifteen minutes into the game, Sirius, who had regained possession, began to throw it hard at James and Peter.

"Sirius, what the hell?" James shouted after the Quaffle hit him in the face.

"It's a Bludger!" he explained, throwing it at Peter, who squealed and ducked.

"Then what's the Quaffle?" asked Remus.

"Well, it's the Quaffle _now_," said Sirius after retrieving the ball.

"So basically it's either the Quaffle or a Bludger, whichever you feel like it is at any given moment," Remus said.

"Yeah, that sounds about right."

They played all day, stopping only to argue over possession or repeal one of Sirius' new rules. When the sun began to set, a tall woman with brown hair who appeared to be in her mid-forties approached the pitch, standing next to Harry.

"Boys, its time for dinner!" she called up to them, and at once, all four touched down immediately.

"Have you four been up there all day?" she asked as they followed her across the field.

"Yeah," said Sirius.

They were approaching a house larger than Harry had ever seen. No, it wasn't a house, thought Harry. This was a mansion, even larger than the Malfoy Manor. It had obviously been well taken care of; though Harry knew the mansion had to be very old, the paint was fresh and the gardens were well pruned.

The Potter Manor.

Harry followed the Marauders and his grandmother into the manor, and if he thought the outside was spectacular, it was nothing compared with the inside. It was grand, meticulously designed, and clean enough to make Aunt Petunia proud, but instead of feeling stiff and sterile, like the Dursley house did, this house was warm and inviting, reminding Harry pleasantly of the Weasley's. The walls were lined with interesting trinkets, tools, and artifacts—some of which Harry recognized from Dumbledore's office. The kitchen smelled wonderful. Boiled potatoes and steak were set out on the table.

"This looks wonderful, Mrs. Potter," said Remus.

"Don't thank mum," laughed James. "She can't make ice! Lucy made this!"

Far from being offended, Mrs. Potter laughed.

"James, you're quite right," she said, ruffling her son's hair. "Cheeky, but right."

"Who's Lucy?" asked Peter.

"Our cook," said James, sitting in one of the seats around the table. His friends copied him.

"Pumpkin juice, mistress Potter?"

A small house-elf had appeared at Mrs. Potter's elbow, carrying a jug of pumpkin juice nearly as large as she was.

"Yes, please, Pinky," said Mrs. Potter, and Pinky obliged, but the size of the jug got the better of her and she spilled juice all over the lace tablecloth and Mrs. Potter. Pinky burst into tears.

"Oh no, Mistress, Pinky is so sorry! Bad Pinky, bad!"

"Pinky, it's quite alright," said Mrs. Potter, waving her wand and clearing up the mess. "Stop crying, it was only an accident." Pinky sniffled, but could not disobey this order.

"Would young master James and his friends like some pumpkin juice?"

The Marauders nodded and Pinky poured each of them a goblet.

"We might as well start eating," said Mrs. Potter. "Your father should be home by now, but there's no use letting all this get cold."

As if on cue, there was a crack and a tall, tired, thin man with glasses and messy black hair materialized in the kitchen.

"Sorry," he apologized. "I hope you are not waiting on my account?"

"We were just getting started, Harold," said Mrs. Potter, standing up to greet her husband.

"May I take your coat, master Potter?" asked Pinky in her squeaky voice, and Mr. Potter nodded.

"How was work?" asked Mrs. Potter as Mr. Potter sat down and served himself potatoes and steak.

"Did you catch any Dark wizards, Dad?" asked James eagerly. Mr. Potter shook his head.

"No, James," sighed Mr. Potter. "Far from it. There were two more Muggle-born murders today, actually. No trace of evidence, no leads, no witnesses—"

"Harold," Mrs. Potter interrupted warningly.

"They deserve to know what's going on, Evelyn" he said quietly.

"They know what's going on. We don't have to discuss it during dinner."

Mr. Potter conceded, and the table fell silent, except for the chink of cutlery against plates.

"I beat James at Quidditch today," Sirius announced suddenly.

"You did not, you big prat," James snapped through a mouthful of potatoes.

"Did I or did I not score more goals than you did?"

"You did not."

"You, sir, are a liar."

"You 'scored' during a time-out!"

"What about all the other times? Huh?"

"If you mean the two goals you scored on _yourself_…"

"Tomato, potato," said Sirius.

"Don't you mean, tomato, tomahto?" said Remus.

"It's an _expression_," Sirius explained as though this was obvious. Remus shook his head. The Potters were laughing.

"Do they do this a lot?" asked Mrs. Potter.

"All. The. Time," Remus told her seriously.

"And you love it," said James, spraying a mouthful of steak over Remus.

"What is all this?"

But that didn't seem to fit with the memory. Harry's heart rate increased quite suddenly. He knew that voice very well, but it didn't belong to his father, grandparents, or any of the other Marauders. He whirled around.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded of the beautiful redhead in front of him, perhaps more harshly than he should have.

"Harry, nobody's seen you in days!" Ginny told him. "Is this where you've been?"

"How did you get in?" Harry asked her, ignoring the question. "Don't touch that!" he snapped as she reached up to the Potter's collection of expensive-looking trinkets, forgetting for a moment that she wasn't solid.

"I'm a witch," said Ginny matter-of-factly. "Where are we?"

"In the Pensieve."

"Don't play dumb. Is this Snape's house?"

"Snape's—no, why would it be Snape's house?"

"These are his memories, right? Ron told me," she answered Harry's unasked question. "So where is he?"

"He's…I dunno, not here," said Harry. "Get out, I'm busy."

"You're acting like a total prat," said Ginny bluntly. "You've been holed up in here for ages. Nobody's seen you or talked to you, and everyone's worried sick. Who are these peop—Merlin, is that _you_?"

She pushed past Harry to examine James more closely.

"Ginny, don't—"

"No, your eyes…but…" Realization dawned on her face. "This…this is your father…and that must mean…Sirius? And Lupin and Pettigrew?" She looked to Harry for confirmation. He didn't bother to nod; the answer was obvious. "Harry, wha—?"

"We're leaving," he told her curtly, grabbing her wrist. Both were pulled out of the memory and landed in Harry's kitchen, the Pensieve in front of them.

"Get off of me." Ginny twisted away from Harry, who was glaring at her. He was full of anger, an emotion he had never felt towards Ginny before. How could she invade his privacy? He didn't want to explain anything to anybody—at least not yet. He wanted to spend time with his parents. This was so private, so personal, and now he felt…violated.

"Explain," she said.

"Leave," Harry snapped, pointing to the door. Ginny glanced at the door and then back at Harry.

"What is _with_ you?" Ginny exclaimed angrily. "First you lie to everybody and disappear, and now you're jumping down my throat for no reason! It's like your fifteen all over again!"

"I didn't lie to anybody!"

"You told Ron these were Snape's memories!"

"Who cares who's memories they are? Snape wanted me to see them!"

"Why?"

"It isn't your business!" Harry was shouting now.

"It _is _my business because you're my business!" Ginny yelled back. "Haven't you learned the danger of immersing yourself in magic you can't control?"

"What are you _talking_ about? This is the Pensieve, I've used it about ten times already, with Dumbledore! It's safe! This isn't like Riddle's diary, don't act like I'm some stupid kid who doesn't know anything—"

"I didn't say that, you know I didn't say that! And in case you've forgotten, that was really Dark magic, and you fell for it, too! Why are you so angry?" Ginny demanded incredulously, her face full of confusion. "I don't understand!"

"No, you don't," Harry told her. "You wouldn't understand."

"I'm not some little kid, Harry—"

"You're seventeen!"

Harry knew immediately that this was a mistake. There was fire in Ginny's eyes now, but he didn't care.

"I'm of age, aren't I?" Ginny spat. "I've left school! When you were my age, you killed Voldemort, which, if I may remind you, was only a year ago!"

"You aren't me!" Harry shouted.

"And thank _Merlin_ for that! You're acting like an immature conceited ass!" Ginny stalked out of the apartment and Harry slumped down on the chair, running his hands through his hair. He had never been so frustrated with Ginny. He wasn't sure how the argument had started, or why, but he knew that this was the biggest fight they'd ever had.

He knew in the back of his mind that she meant well, and he had overreacted, but he didn't care. Knowing his parents was important to him, more important than anything, including his relationship with her. He felt a pang in his heart as he thought this, and he realized immediately that it wasn't true. He had never been so happy as he was with Ginny. It was wrong of him to let himself get completely absorbed in his parent's memories and forget his own life, but the lure of the memories was so strong…

He stood up, sighing. He was so tired…perhaps he could better think this through after some sleep, when his head was clearer. He could always talk to Ginny tomorrow. He would talk to Ginny tomorrow, he decided as he headed into his bedroom. What he was going to say, however, was still a mystery to him.

**A/N: **Oh my gosh, you guys, I'm sorry for the loooong update! I hope this chapter was up to scratch, though! Please leave a review and tell me what you thought--this one was a bit different! Not sure exactly how the next chapter is going to play out--I have several drafts floating around but there are a few ways I could go, so I guess you'll just have to wait and see!

By the way, I love all of you. You guys are pretty much the most awesome readers ever, and thank you again for sticking with my story! Thanks to RainingRain, Dracoisalooker76, EdwardsLily, FallingForFootie, I love ipods, the sudoku kid, Kira2667, ..Wannabe., -EHWIES, Lady of Dreams2071, Jessluvsharry, chp200, Hikari-and-Akari, and prongster for their wonderful, kind, amazing, and encouraging reviews! I'm working on faster updates, I promise!

-Dem


	14. New Term and Fresh Starts

**A/N: **Wow. So sorry for the long wait. School kind of eats your life. But the chapter's up now, so please enjoy! If you're still reading, that is, haha.

Harry raised his hand to knock on the door of the Burrow, but instead ran it through his hair, sighing. He had barely slept the night before, tossing and turning over what he was going to say to her. He couldn't even decide what his position on the matter _was_. On the one hand, he had Ginny, his girlfriend, who was so sweet and funny and incredible…she was his rock, she was always there for him. She was Harry's here and now, and he loved to see her smile and laugh, and would do anything to make her happy. Or so he thought, because on the other hand, he had never known his parents, and watching James, Lily, Sirius, and Remus in the Pensieve made him happy.

But did it make him happy? Sure, he liked to watch them, to learn about his family and the people who cared about him, but in the back of his mind, he knew they were dead. He was watching people who wouldn't get to live their lives. The war was brewing around them, and they had no idea what was in store…okay, Harry reasoned, yes, it was sad, but they were his family…

"Are you going to knock on the door or just stand there like an idiot?"

Harry was jolted from his thoughts by Ginny, who was standing in the doorway, arms crossed and face hardened. Harry opened his mouth, but couldn't think of what to say and then closed it. Ginny rolled her eyes and turned around, back into her house, but didn't close the door.

"Oi, Ginny, who's at the door?" called a voice from inside. Ron.

"Some idiot," Harry heard Ginny snap back. Harry followed her inside, but when he reached the kitchen, she was not there.

"Hey, mate, didn't know you were coming over today," said Ron. "Might wanna visit some other time, though, 'cause Ginny's been pretty mad latel—oh." Ron looked pointedly at Harry, putting two and two together. Dropping his voice, he asked, "What're you two rowing about?"

"She hasn't told you?"

"Well, she doesn't exactly come home and tell me all about her love life, does she? Did something happen last night?"

"Tell you later," said Harry shortly, leaving the kitchen and ascending the stairs to where Ginny's room was. The door was slightly ajar, and Harry peered inside. Ginny was lying on her bed, reading. She looked up.

"What?" she said bitingly.

"I'm here to…er…"

"Apologize for being an arse?" Ginny interrupted. Harry was tempted to nod, but he didn't. He still didn't know what he wanted.

"I'm here to talk," he said, a little louder than necessary, but his voice was steady this time.

"Fine. Talk," said Ginny offhandedly. Harry looked around the room, as though her walls and possessions could give him inspiration. They were no help to him, however, so he looked back at Ginny, who glared. He dropped his gaze. His eyes then found a nice spot around her knees and he began to speak.

"You don't understand," he said.

"I don't understand," she repeated, and Harry could hear the anger in her voice building.

"No," said Harry quickly, looking right at Ginny this time. "You don't. You have parents. My parents are dead, in case you haven't noticed—"

"My father was attacked by a snake," Ginny snapped back. "My brother is dead. _I_ was dragged into the Chamber of Secrets by _Lord Voldemort_ when I was _eleven_—"

"No, Ginny, this isn't about being too young, or stuff you've done or whatever," said Harry, frustrated. Though he loved how opinionated Ginny could be, now he wished she would just shut up. "This is about family. And I know some of your family is dead, but at least you remember them! You _knew_ them! I don't know my family, and this is my chance, Ginny!" Harry suddenly realized he was pleading with her, but he didn't care.

"Is that why you think I'm angry?" Ginny demanded. "You think I'm trying to keep you from knowing your dead family?" She was yelling now, actually yelling, and Harry knew that if he said what he wanted to say, he would be sealing his own coffin, but he couldn't stop himself.

"Yeah," said Harry, "I guess I do."

"Harry, you are the thickest _prat_ I have ever met in my life," she said darkly. "Get out."

"Gladly," Harry snapped, and he walked out onto the landing, slamming the door behind him so loudly that he didn't hear Ginny's sob.

The Great Hall was full of noise, though food had not yet appeared on the House tables. James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter were sitting in the middle of the table, no doubt discussing something of extreme importance. Lily and her friends were a few seats down, looking the same as always. Lily's hair was pulled back into two braids, as usual, Alice was as blond and round-faced as always, though much tanner, Mary was talking animatedly, and Marlene had appeared to have grown at least three inches over the summer, making her look even more gawky and geeky than usual.

The doors to the Great Hall opened, and the chatter was replaced by applause as the new first-years filed in. Harry looked over at James, Sirius, Remus and Peter; Sirius' face had hardened slightly. He didn't seem angry…was he nervous? Harry thought he knew what this was about. He glided over to the first-years to get a better look as the Sorting Hat finished his song and McGonagall unfurled her long scroll of parchment.

"Allen, Stephanie!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Thunderous applause erupted from the Gryffindor table, accompanied by polite clapping from the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs, and boos from the Slytherins.

"Aaronson, Pat!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Black, Regulus!"

Harry looked back over at Sirius, who was watching his little brother like a hawk. He wasn't glaring, he was simply watching. Regulus looked nervous, his dark hair short and neat and his robes perfectly clean and pressed. As he walked up to the stool, Harry saw that he was considerably shorter than Sirius. He put on the hat with shaking hands, and sat perfectly still, waiting for the verdict.

The hat didn't respond immediately. Thirty seconds passed. A minute. Another thirty seconds. The Hall began to buzz again; though the Sorting Hat had been known to take its time, it was rare that it would take two full minutes to make its decision. Sirius wasn't whispering, however. He appeared to be holding his breath. Until…

"SLYTHERIN!"

Regulus looked relieved and hopped off the stool to join the rest of the Blacks at the table. However, for a moment, his eyes locked with Sirius,' as though looking for approval. Harry looked back over at Sirius, and if approval was what Regulus was looking for, it wasn't what he was going to get. Sirius' face was etched with dislike and…something else. Could it have been disappointment?

The next memory took place in the boys' dormitory. "Merlin, I'm bored," James complained. He was sitting on his bed, levitating various things around the room with his wand, while the other boys were snatching their belongings out of the air, looking annoyed.

"Well, you could stop doing that," suggested Sirius a little angrily, snatching a comic out of the air.

"You know, we never actually welcomed the girls back to school," said Remus. The others looked at him, bemused looks on their faces.

"What are you suggesting, that we send them a muffin basket?" James asked wryly. Peter laughed.

"I was thinking along slightly more…malicious lines," Remus replied.

"That sounds a lot more interesting than a muffin basket," said Peter.

"I don't believe it. Is Remus, perfect, straight-O Remus, actually suggesting a _prank_?" Sirius asked, eyes wide.

"James, Sirius, you guys got your brooms?" Remus asked them, ignoring Sirius's jibe.

"Yeah," said Sirius, "we haven't gotten a chance to take them down to the storage cupboard yet." He gestured to a long, wrapped package lying next to his trunk.

"And James, we're gonna need your Invisibility Cloak."

James nodded.

"Excellent."

When the memory re-emerged, Harry was standing on the grounds, in the dark. The boys were missing. Remembering Remus' request of broomsticks and an Invisibility Cloak, Harry looked up and strained his ears. He couldn't hear a thing.

However, after a minute or so, a large trunk Harry recognized as Lily's was being levitated out the window. Harry assumed the girls were in the common room. Whoever had the wand was levitating all of the trunks onto the top of the tower. Once all of the trunks were put away, the boys took off the Cloak and flew back into their dormitory, but even through the closed window, Harry could hear their laughter.

He felt himself being dragged up the side of the castle, but instead of being dragged through his fathers' window, he found himself in the empty girls' dorms. He sat down on one of the beds and waited for something to happen. Sure enough, a few moments later, Alice and Lily walked through the door, laughing about something. When they looked around, however, they stopped abruptly.

"What happened?" Alice wanted to know. "Where's our stuff?"

"I don't know!" said Lily. She looked beneath all of the beds. "Alice, go get Marlene and Mary; their stuff is gone, too. I'll check the bathroom."

Alice nodded, and exited the dormitory, while Lily searched the bathroom, throwing open cupboards and rummaging through the drawers. The dormitory door opened again, announcing the presence of Mary, Marlene, and Alice.

"The bathroom's still in order," Lily informed them. Mary walked over and took in the mess of toothpaste, hairbrushes, and towels that had been strewn over the floor.

"That's debatable."

Lily ignored this, and walked passed her, pacing up and down the dormitory. "Who could have done this?"

"I'm gonna go tell the Prefects," said Marlene.

"Good idea," said Lily, as Marlene left the dormitory and ascended the stairs to the fifth-year dormitories.

"Who _did_ this?" Lily demanded again, resuming her pacing.

"Maybe nobody did. Maybe it just got lost on the Hogwarts Express," suggested Alice.

"Maybe," said Lily, looking unconvinced.

"It would make sense," Mary conceded, sitting on her bed.

"No, it wouldn't," said Lily. "They enchant our luggage so it goes to our correct room during the feast. If they messed up the enchantment, then _everybody's_ luggage would be in the wrong place. Someone must have done this."

"Who would want our stuff?" Alice asked her.

"I don't think anyone wanted it," said Lily, "I think this is someone's stupid idea of a joke." And without a word of explanation, Lily stalked out of the room. Harry followed her, reminded slightly of Hermione.

She made her way through the emptying common room and up the stairs to the boys' dorms. When she reached the landing, she banged on the door labeled, "SECOND YEARS," yelling, "Potter! Black! Open up!"

The door opened, revealing a rather surprised-looking Remus Lupin.

"Lily? It's late, you can't be up—"

"Where's our stuff?" she demanded, pushing passed Lupin and speaking directly to Sirius and James.

"What stuff?" asked Sirius blankly. "Oi, what do you think you're doing?!"

Lily had opened Sirius' trunk and was rummaging through his stuff, apparently in search of hers.

"Don't play dumb, you useless sack of—"

"Evans, he doesn't have it!" James said. Lily stopped.

"Where's our stuff, Potter?" She went over to his bed and searched underneath it.

"What's going on in here?" An older boy with a Prefect badge stuck to his pajamas had entered the room. Lily jumped up. "Hey! Girls aren't allowed in the boys' dormitories at night!"

"They took our stuff!" Lily told him angrily.

"What stuff?"

"Our stuff! Our things, our trunks! All of it!"

"No, we didn't," said Remus.

"Don't believe them! These boys are nothing but trouble!"

"You've just torn apart our room," said James, annoyed, "and your stuff isn't here."

"You're hiding it!" Lily said.

"Okay, okay, hold it," said the Prefect. "Listen, they couldn't have taken it. Boys can't get into the girls' dormitories."

"But—but then where is it?"

At that exact moment, Marlene, Alice, and Mary came stumbling in.

"They found our stuff," said Alice.

"They did?" said Lily, looking around at the boys. "Where was it?"

"On top of Gryffindor Tower," she said. "It must have accidentally been sent to the wrong place."

Lily stared at James and Sirius, as though determined to believe it was their fault, though not sure how.

"Good. You have your stuff back," said the Prefect. "So you girls can go back to your room now."

Very reluctantly, Lily allowed Marlene to lead her out of the dormitory, and back into their own room, where their trunks were waiting obediently by their beds.

"Potter had something to do with this," Lily muttered. "Our trunks didn't get sent to the wrong place. That doesn't happen. Potter did this."

"Why do you think Potter did it?" said Mary.

"This is exactly the kind of stupid, annoying, pointless prank he would pull," said Lily.

"Lily, I'm all for blaming Potter and stuff," said Marlene, "but I actually don't think they did it. Boys can't get up here. Remember what happened to Natalia Moore and Walter Wallace last term?"

Lily didn't answer. In fact, she didn't say another word as she changed (Harry closed his eyes for that), got into bed, and fell asleep.

The memory resumed the following morning at breakfast. James had gotten up from his seat, backpack slung over his shoulder, heading to his first class. Mary nudged Lily in the ribs, and pointed to him. Lily dropped her fork and made a beeline for James.

"Oi, Potter!" she said, and he turned around, though when he saw her, he seemed to wish he hadn't.

"Evans, for the hundredth time, I don't have your stuff."

"I know," she said. "I'm here to…er…apologize. So I'm sorry I thought you took our stuff. Even though it is something you would do."

"Okay, er, thanks," said James, looking wary.

"I mean it," said Lily, trying to sound like she really did. "And I also think we should…er…start over, or something."

"Start over?"

"Yeah, you know, start over. Then we don't have to hate each other or annoy each other and stuff."

"Evans, everything you could ever possibly do annoys me, including this," said James.

"Fine, Potter, be a jerk as usual," said Lily. "I came over here to try and make peace, but I guess you can't handle being mature." She started to walk away, but James called after her.

"What?"

"Fine, Christ, if you're going to get all emotional about it, I'll accept your stupid truce thing," said James. "But this doesn't mean we're friends."

"Like I would want that," said Lily. "It just means I ignore you, and you stop pranking me."

"Fine, whatever," said James unenthusiastically. "This ignoring thing starts now."

And he walked away.

**A/N: **Thanks to Kire2667, Hikari-and-Akari, Lady of Dreams2701, Ms. Estella Black, prongster, Jessluvsharry, the sudoku kid, wishfulthinking123, xsinglovelivedancex, FairoNeko, FallingForFootie, Dracoisalooker76, EdwardsLily, Swat56, cocodancer95, and lilyjames4ever15004. You guys are so awesome, and i don't deserve your awesomeness. Although I hope you will review anyways!


	15. In Sickness and in Health

A/N: Oh my god. I am so. Sorry. That was WAY too long of a wait.

Chapter 14: In Sickness and in Health

"Hey!" James whopped Remus in the head with his pillow. "You slept through the alarm. Class starts in ten."

Remus rolled over, grumbling.

"Come on." James hit Remus again.

"Stop _doing_ that," said Remus in a muffled voice. He wrenched the hangings around his bed with one hand.

"What's this? Ickle Remy doesn't want to go to class?" said Sirius. No answer from Remus; only a groan.

"We're going to be late," piped up Peter.

"Come on, Remus," said James, re-opening the hangings of Remus' bed.

"Cut it out," snapped Remus, shielding his eyes from the light. Harry sucked in his breath; he looked terrible. Thin, dark circles under his eyes, and pale. The full moon must have been close.

"Damn," said Sirius, "you look awful."

"Well you don't look perfectly peachy yourself," Remus grumbled.

"Hey, don't get all defensive, you look sick," said James, now sounding concerned. "Want us to walk you to the hospital?"

"Nah, I'll go myself later," said Remus. "Go to class, you'll be late."

"Okay," said James, though he sounded a bit reluctant to leave his sick friend alone. The three healthy boys left the room, closing the door behind them.

"He's been missing a lot of class," said Peter. "He was sick last month, too. Missed the Halloween Feast, remember?"

"Could be a coincidence," shrugged James. "Isn't that Ravenclaw girl sick? What's her name, the one with the twin? Elaine?"

"Yeah," said Sirius. "Maybe there's something going around."

In the next memory, Harry could see snow outside on the Hogwarts grounds. Judging by the tinsel draped around the Common Room, Harry figured that it was nearing Christmas time. James was nowhere to be seen. This must be one of Lily's memories, he thought.

He saw his twelve-year-old mother curled up in an armchair by the fire with a thick book, while Mary and Marlene played Wizard Chess. By Mary's indignant cries, it sounded as though Marlene was cheating. Alice was watching the spectacle with an amused look on her face.

"Okay, that was _not_ there a second ago," Mary said, gesturing to Marlene's knight.

"Get your eyes checked, MacDonald," Marlene replied, crossing her arms.

"Excuse me, but _you're_ the one with inch-thick glasses, nerd," Mary snapped. Marlene pushed her glasses up her nose self-consciously.

"'_Nerd?_'" exclaimed Marlene. "I'll have you know that I haven't done any homework all term!"

"Maybe that's why you're so prone to _cheating_," Mary said crossly, looking pointedly at the chess board.

"Alice, back me up," Marlene ordered, and Alice put her hands up in surrender.

"No, no, no," she said. "This is your problem."

"Alice, you SAW her move her knight!" said Mary. "Take my side!"

"She saw nothing of the kind!"

"She—look, there she goes, she just stole my bishop!" Mary yelled, and she took several pawns and threw them at Marlene. Marlene gaped, and threw her queen at Mary. Several people in the Common Room were now looking on curiously.

"I did not! This is sabotage!"

"Sabotage? Well, I'm surprised you can correctly use a word with more than four letters in a sentence!"

Marlene pelted Mary with more pawns. Mary ducked, and one of the pawns hit Lily square in the forehead. Lily squealed and hid behind her book.

"Here's a four letter word for you—"

"Enough!" shouted Arthur Weasley his Prefect badge pinned to his chest.

Mary and Marlene dropped the chess pieces they were holding.

"Detention, McKinnon, MacDonald," he told them, "for disrupting study time."

"Aw, come on, Weasley," Marlene whined. "We were just having a bit of fun—"

"Some of us have exams," Arthur cut her off. "Either keep it down, or I'll double your detention."

Arthur stalked off to a group of other sixth years huddled around piles of books. Marlene rolled her eyes.

"What a killjoy," Marlene muttered.

"I'd rather have a killjoy than a cheater," Mary said quietly.

"What was that?" Marlene said sharply.

"Oh, I…uh…hey, there goes Black, Potter, and Pettigrew," said Mary. "No Lupin."

"So?"

"You know, that _is_ a bit odd," said Alice slowly. "Usually they are inseparable."

"Maybe they got in a fight," shrugged Marlene. "Maybe they called Lupin a cheater, and now his self-esteem is shot, and he can't bear to look himself in the mirror, let alone get out of bed—"

"Oh shove off," scoffed Mary. "You couldn't drain all your self-esteem with a hypodermic needle."

"Remus has been sick all week," said Lily, not looking up from her book.

"Oh," said Marlene. "Or that."

"Poor Remus," said Alice. "It seems like he's always sick."

"Poor Remus? You mean lucky Remus!" Marlene exclaimed. "He gets to miss loads of class!"

"Yeah, but he has to make up all that work," said Mary.

"Whatever, still beats sitting in class all day, listening to our batty professors drone on and on…"

"They do not _drone_," said Lily. "They _educate_."

"Lil, you have some brown on your nose," scoffed Marlene. "And they do drone. They either drone or yell at me."

"Maybe if you were less disruptive, they would yell at you less."

"Disruptive? _Moi_?" Marlene pretended to look scandalized. "What is this, hate on Marlene day? Cheater, disruptor…as if I am responsible for the world's problems…"

"You are insufferable," said Lily, turning a page in her book.

"Speaking of Black," said Marlene, "I still need to get him back for that incident last week."

Alice immediately started to laugh. "You mean when he—"

"," said Marlene loudly, turning bright red. Alice laughed even harder, and Mary and Lily joined in. "You all stop snickering or you might wake up without a nose!"

The girls continued to roll over themselves at the memory.

"Some mates you are," Marlene mumbled. "Everybody is against me. Laughing at me, insulting me at every turn…with mates like you three, who needs enemies?"

"Lucky you, you've got both!" Lily said through her giggles.

"Shut it!" Marlene said loudly, and the sixth years across the common room glared at her. "Great. You guys are going to make me get even _more_ detention."

"Good, then you'll be out of our hair for another night," giggled Mary.

"You know, I don't have to take this," grumbled Marlene. "I'm going off to make Sirius' life hell. Peace out."

James, Sirius, and Peter were putting on their cloaks and mittens. Remus, Harry judged by the lump in his bed, was still sleeping.

"Last chance," said Sirius. "You coming?"

There was muffled groaning from the lump.

"What was that?" asked Peter.

"Hold on. I'm fluent in Killjoy," said James sarcastically. "Translation: 'I am not coming outside with my awesome friends because I am a huge fat lard who never wants to do anything fun.'" Sirius and Peter guffawed. Remus adjusted himself under his blankets and drew the hangings around his bed again.

"Let's go," said Sirius, motioning for Peter and James to follow. They left the dormitory, leaving Remus by himself.

Harry followed the trio down the stairs and into the Gryffindor Common Room. This must be the same memory as the previous one, Harry realized, but from a different perspective. Marlene and Mary were chucking chess pieces at each other, and Arthur Weasley was making his angry way to give them detention.

The boys didn't give the girls a second look, despite the ruckus they were making. They exited the portrait hole, and Harry followed.

"How are we supposed to have fun without Remus?" whined Peter.

"Are you calling us un-fun?" demanded James.

"No, no, but I miss doing stuff with him."

"Wow, Pete, he's been in bed like three days," said Sirius. "How can you miss doing stuff with him?"

"Yeah, got a crush?" James laughed.

"NO!" said Peter indignantly. "I just wish he would quit getting sick."

"Yeah, I need all eyes and ears on deck," said Sirius. "Marlene is sure to be planning some prank to get me back for what I did to her at breakfast last Tuesday."

The three boys burst out laughing at the memory.

"The look on her face was _classic_," said James, struggling to catch his breath. "That was genius, mate, genius."

Sirius took several bows.

"We've all got to be on the look out," said Sirius seriously. "For Marlene, and her crazy friends as well."

"Oh come on, Lily would drown a puppy before she broke a school rule," said James. "And Allison or whatever her name is would rather be giving cupcakes to the homeless. I'm pretty sure Marlene is all you have to worry about."

The boys made their way outside, and traipsed across the snowy grounds before knocking on Hagrid's door.

"James, Sirius, Peter!" Hagrid boomed. "Glad ta see ya! Was beginnin' to think ya forgot where I lived!"

"Good to see you too, Hagrid," said James. Hagrid beckoned the boys into his warm hut.

"Here, I jus' made meself some rock cakes," said Hagrid, pushing a plate of rock cakes toward the boys. James, Sirius, and Peter exchanged shifty glances.

"We just ate dinner," said James, "we're not hungry. But thanks."

"Suit yerselves," shrugged Hagrid, taking a bite and crushing the rock-hard pastry with his giant teeth. Peter winced. "Where's Remus at?"

"Sick," said Sirius.

"Sick? Again?" Hagrid sighed. "Wasn' he sick last month?"

"Yeah, he missed a huge Transfiguration exam," said Peter.

"He can' go on missin this much school!" Hagrid said. "He'll end up havin ter repeat a year!"

"Nah, he studies too much to have to repeat a year," said Sirius. "He's everyone's favorite. They'll never make him stay back."

"You never know," said Hagrid.

They stayed at Hagrid's hut for a few hours, talking about various beasts that Hagrid kept in the Forest.

"It's gettin' dark. You'd better head back up." Hagrid looked outside. The boys protested, but Hagrid eventually got them out the front door.

He was right; it was late. The moon had already risen. And it was almost full.

A/N: Thanks again to all my reviewers-you are all too cool. I'm sorry for the lack of updates-I promise i have not forgotten about this story, and the updates will become more regular in the summer! In the mean time, please review and let me know what you think! I miss all of you, and it's goodto be back.

-Dem


	16. Detentions and Discoveries

**A/N: **Let me start by apologizing. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm so, so, SO sorry. If anybody is still even reading this story, I want you to know that I have not forgotten about it! I just waited to put this up because I wanted to make sure it wasn't a pile of crap, because you guys all deserve better. You also deserve to throw some stuff at me. I'm a terrible updater. Anyways, you are all sick of my ramblings, so read on!

The boys returned to their dormitory quietly. The hangings around Remus' bed were drawn, and James and Sirius were uncharacteristically considerate of their friend, who they assumed was fast asleep. James tiptoed to his bed and pulled out _The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2_ and began to read.

"What're you—" said Sirius at normal volume, but James "shh-ed" him, gesturing at Remus' bed. Sirius lowered his voice. "What're you doing? You know this is a strictly study-free zone."

"I have to get this done," said James, pulling his quill and his parchment towards himself as well.

"Go do it downstairs," whispered Sirius, flopping down on his bed. "I don't want to have to watch you read that junk."

"I can't," James replied, "Evans is in the Common Room, and I don't want to deal with her."

"I thought you guys were ignoring each other?" piped up Peter from his own four-poster.

"Yeah, but she seems to just…_radiate_ obnoxiousness. I don't want any of it to rub off on me."

"Too late for that, mate," smirked Sirius, and James crumpled up the first draft of his homework and threw it at him. They continued to bicker quietly, with Peter looking on, impressed by their wit, while Harry decided to do a little exploring of his own.

This memory had to contain more than just the two friend's banter; each memory from the Penseive was significant, and though amusing, this was not. So Harry glided over to Remus' bed, and forgetting that he was intangible, lifted a hand to pull back the curtains. It went straight through. Harry remembered his state and glided through the curtains to find himself faced with an empty bed.

* * *

The memory transitioned. This time, Harry was back in the Common Room, which was still relatively full. He checked a third-year boy's watch; it was a little after ten. Lily and her friends were in the corner of the room, packing up their books. It looked as though they were getting ready to go to bed. Harry glided over to the girls, who were animatedly discussing their Transfiguration papers—except for Marlene, who was mindlessly twirling her wand in boredom, causing things around the room to jump off the shelves. Harry waited, listening to their conversation impatiently for a full three minutes, feeling himself growing bored. The novelty of seeing his mother had not yet worn off, but the drabbles of eleven-year-old girls weren't exactly his favorite conversation. However, he didn't have to wait long for something to happen; McGonagall had entered the Common Room through the portrait hole, wearing her dressing gown and witches' hat and looking generally disheveled. Several people turned their heads at the sound; it was passed curfew, so only a student illegally out of bed would have been climbing in at that hour. Upon seeing their Head of House, whose presence in the Common Room was generally uncommon, most of the students stopped what they were doing and turned to look at her.

"Marianne McFadden," said McGonagall gravely, and Harry saw that her tone of voice was reflected in her grim expression. A hush fell over the Common Room after hearing her speak.

"She's upstairs," said Molly Weasley.

"Run and get her, will you, Ms. Prewett?" said McGonagall, gesturing towards the girls' staircase. Sensing the urgency in McGonagall's voice, Molly nodded, jumped up, and took the stairs two at a time.

Several people broke out into nervous whisperings. One brave student called out,

"What's going on, Professor?"

"That is between Ms. McFadden and myself," said McGonagall. Molly came back down the stairs, leading a pudgy, dark-haired, confused-looking girl. "Come with me, if you please," she said, looking down on Marianne with a mixture of pity and sadness. Marianne exited the Common Room with Professor McGonagall.

The chatter in the Common Room rose almost instantly.

"What was that?"

"Do you think she's okay?"

"Maybe she got a T on her last Transfiguration exam."

Harry felt himself being forcibly dragged backwards, and realized that Lily must be going up the stairs to her dormitory. He allowed himself to be dragged up to Lily's dormitory.

"What was that all about?" Marlene was asking. The other girls shrugged.

"Your guess is as good as mine," said Mary.

"I've never seen McGonagall come up here before," Lily remarked. "Usually she and Dumbledore just send notes, right? It must be serious if she came to get her personally."

There was a tense silence as the four girls pondered what "serious" could mean, and Harry shuddered. He was already sure he knew the answer: a member of Marianne's family surely had been murdered by Lord Voldemort.

"You don't think…" said Alice, trailing off.

"What?" asked Mary.

"Well…" Alice shifted uncomfortably. "It's horrible to think about, of course, but you don't think…could it have something to do with all these strange deaths that have been happening lately?"

Mary, Lily, and Marlene looked solemn.

"Don't say that," said Lily. "For all we know, she just…missed a detention."

Harry could tell that Lily didn't even believe herself.

"First Jordana, now Marianne," said Marlene in a low voice. "At this rate, everyone in Hogwarts will be orphans."

The four girls looked at each other, unaware of the weight Marlene's statement held.

* * *

The next memory materialized, and Harry found himself in the Great Hall, seated at the Gryffindor table, between James and Sirius. Harry scanned the table briefly, but saw no sign of Marianne McFadden. His worst fears were confirmed. Also missing from the table was Remus, and this did not go unnoticed by the others.

"He wasn't in bed this morning, and he's not at breakfast," said Sirius. "Where else could he be?"

"Hospital wing?" suggested Peter through a mouthful of toast.

"Maybe," said James. "You guys done? We could go look in on him. He looked pretty ill yesterday…"

"Hold on, just a bit more," said Sirius, shoveling eggs into his mouth with renewed gusto. Just then, the familiar sound of hundreds of owls beating their wings filled the hall; it was time for mail. James, Sirius, and Peter scanned the ceiling for sightings of their own owls. A large tawny owl landed gracefully in front of Sirius, and he untied the package attached to its foot. Harry read the included note over Sirius' shoulder:

_Pass this package along to dear Regulus. He forgot to pack some things we are only just getting around to sending. _

Harry saw Sirius mouth the phrase, "dear Regulus" with disgust. He shoved the letter into his bag the moment he finished reading it.

"Be right back," said Sirius to James and Peter, who nodded. Harry watched him make his way to the Slytherin table, drop the package in front of his younger brother and walk quickly back to the Gryffindor table.

"What was that about?" James wanted to know.

"Little brother forgot to pack," grumbled Sirius. He pushed his plate away, as though finally done eating. "Let's go visit Remus."

James nodded, but Peter was engrossed in the latest issue of _The Daily Prophet_.

"C'mon, Peter," said James, tugging at his robes, but Peter shook his head.

"Look at this." He flattened the newspaper on the table in front of them. James adjusted his glasses and read the headline:

"_Muggle Death Toll Rises_. Real positive way to start the day, Peter."

"Wait a minute," Sirius snatched up the paper and pointing to a set of captioned, unmoving photographs. "Joseph McFadden…isn't there a McFadden in Gryffindor?"

"Oh yeah," said James. "She's that Prefect who took points off us for setting off all those dungbombs in the library! Mary-Sue or something."

"I don't see her," said Sirius, scanning the table. "They must have sent her home."

James nodded. "To the Hospital Wing, then?"

Sirius and Peter followed James out of the Great Hall, and they made it to the Hospital Wing without another word about Marianne McFadden. All the beds were empty, except for one in the corner.

"Potter!" said the girl inhabiting it. "Come for a visit?"

"Hey, Natalia," said James. "What happened?"

"Broken arm," she said, grimacing. "Madame Burton mended it in about a second, but the old hag wanted me to stay the night anyways."

"Be more careful next time," said James. "We've got our first match in three weeks—we can't afford to be down a player."

"Where's Remus?" Peter asked Natalia, cutting across James.

"Remus…?"

"Lupin," Peter clarified. "Tall, brown hair, likes to read…"

"Right, right," said Natalia. "Yeah, he came in here last night looking like hell, but McGonagall came and got him after about half an hour. I thought she sent him back to his dormitory."

"Well, he wasn't there when we woke up, and he wasn't at breakfast," said Sirius. "Sounds like he wasn't even in bed when we came up."

"C'mon," said James suddenly, turning towards the door. "We have to go. Now."

"James, wha-?" said Sirius, but he followed anyways, with Peter in tow.

"Bye!" Natalia called sarcastically before the door shut. James paid her no mind.

"What was that about?" Sirius demanded.

"Peter, do you still have that newspaper?" James disregarded his best friend.

"Yeah." Peter fished through his messy bag and pulled out the _Prophet_. James took it from him and scanned the article about the Muggle killings.

"What are you doing?" Sirius repeated.

"Looking for someone."

"James." Sirius took the newspaper from James. "You're freaking out. Relax. Remus is a half-blood, not a muggle-born."

"Then where _is_ he?" James exclaimed. "He's not in the Hospital Wing. He didn't sleep in our dormitory last night. He's not at breakfast this morning, and Natalia says that McGonagall took him somewhere last night."

"No idea, mate," said Sirius. The halls were starting to flood with students on their way to their first classes of the day. "Maybe he's in Charms."

But Lupin wasn't in Charms, nor was he in Transfiguration. At the end of the lesson, James, Sirius, and Peter approached Professor McGonagall.

"Professor?" said Sirius.

"Yes, Black?"

"We were just wondering…where's Remus?" he asked.

"Mr. Lupin is…currently indisposed," said McGonagall, sounding as though she was carefully choosing her words.

The three boys exchanged worried looks.

"Is he alright?" asked Peter.

"Yes. He will be back in lessons tomorrow," said McGonagall. "Now, get moving you three or you'll be late to your next class." She shooed them out of the classroom as groups of seventh years began to make their way to their seats.

"Oh, yeah, wouldn't want to be late to potions," grumbled James, and he led his friends out of the classroom. The memory dissolved into blackness.

* * *

The memory resurfaced in the dark. As Harry's eyes adjusted to the light, he realized he was back in the boy's dormitory. James was sprawled out on his back atop the middle bed, muttering things in his sleep, Remus' bed was empty, and Peter was on the bed closest to Harry, curled up into the fetal position. He could hear Sirius snoring from the bed on the far left.

The semi-silence was broken by the dormitory door creaking open. Harry saw Lupin's frail frame tip-toe quietly through the darkness, as he tried not to wake his friends. Unfortunately, as he came upon his bed, he misjudged the distance of his foot from his trunk, and stubbed his toe painfully.

"OUCH!" he exclaimed loudly. Peter shot up in bed.

"Wuzgoingon?" he demanded groggily, squinting around the room for the source of the disturbance.

"SH!" hissed Lupin. "Pete, go back to bed."

"_Remus?" _said Peter, scrambling out of his covers.

"Peter, shut up," James groaned across the room while Sirius gave an exceptionally loud snore.

"James, it's Remus!" Peter squealed.

"What?" he fumbled with his glasses and slammed them on his face, so the room came into clearer view. "I don't see him—oh, for Merlin's sake—_Lumos!_"

James' wandlight illuminated Remus, who still looked gaunt and tired, though less so than before his transformation.

"Uh, hi," said Remus awkwardly, getting into bed.

"Sirius!" James tossed his pillow at Sirius, who simply rolled over on top of it. "Siri—oh, never mind." He turned his attention back to Remus.

"Where were you?" Peter demanded.

"I've been sick," said Remus simply, climbing into bed. "And I'm still a bit under the weather, so if you don't mind I'll—"

"But I _do_ mind!" James said. "You liar, you have not been sick!"

"Do I look like the picture of health to you?" grumbled Remus sarcastically.

"We went up to the Hospital Wing this morning, and you weren't there," Peter added. Remus hesitated.

"I…was probably in the bathroom," Remus replied, trying to sound nonchalant.

"We talked to Natalia Moore," said James, sounding thoroughly unconvinced, "and she said McGonagall took you away last night."

Remus didn't have an answer for that one.

"I'm going to bed," he snapped.

"Not until you tell us where you were!" James exclaimed. "Do you have any idea how worried we were?"

"Mind your own damn business," Remus said, wrenching the hangings around his bed, leaving Peter and James standing across from each other, looking bewildered.

* * *

"And then he just went to bed? Just like that?" Sirius was asking. The memory had resurfaced in the library, where James, Sirius, and Peter were sitting around a table and not studying. Lily was sitting at a nearby table, buried in Transfiguration notes, and glaring in their direction every time one of them raised their voice above a whisper.

"Just like that," said James grimly.

"And he didn't even come down to breakfast with us," said Peter.

"Pete, you dolt, I know that. I was with you," said Sirius.

"Oh. Right."

"SHH!" Lily hushed them from her table. The boys paid her no mind.

"What do you think has gotten into him lately?" James wanted to know. Sirius and Peter shook their heads.

"No idea, mate," said Sirius.

"Maybe it's his family," said James, thinking aloud. "Both his grandparents died recently, you know, so I suppose he's a little sensitive."

"That explains why he's touchy, but not why he's so sick, or what he was doing with McGonagall."

"Maybe he's been made Prefect, and he was doing patrols," Peter added hopefully, looking as though he wanted nothing more than praise from his much cooler friends.

"Prefects have to be fifth year," James reminded him. "That doesn't make any sense."

"_Excuse me_," Lily interjected, her voice low. "But _some _of us are trying to get some work done!"

"Yeah, we're trying to get stuff done too," said Sirius seriously, "but this annoying girl keeps interrupting us."

Lily huffed, and returned to her homework, clearly annoyed.

"What private business could he possibly have with McGonagall in the middle of the night?" Peter asked the other two.

"Maybe they're having an affair," James joked, and Sirius and Peter laughed loudly. So loudly, in fact, that Lily seemed to lose it. She slammed her book on her table, threw her notes into her bag, and walked right up to them.

"Going somewhere, Evans?" asked James, still giggling.

"Isn't it _obvious_?" she hissed at them.

"That you're leaving?"

"No, about Remus!"

"Isn't _what_ obvious?" Sirius asked.

"Oh, never _mind_," she said exasperatedly, and she stalked out of the library.

The three boys looked at each other.

"What was _that _about?" asked Sirius. James merely shook his head.

"Mad as a hatter, that one."

* * *

Harry tumbled into the next memory. James and Sirius were sitting in the Common Room, bent over a table strewn with star charts.

"I hate Astronomy," Sirius complained, pushing his chart away. Harry noticed that he had notated the full moon on his parchment. "I wish Remus were here; he never leaves his work to the last minute."

"Too bad he hasn't talked to us in weeks," said James. "Guess we have to do our own work for now."

"I don't care if Sinistra gives me a thousand detentions. If I have to look at one more planet, I'm going to eat my hand."

"Speaking of detention," said James, rolling up his parchment and stretching. "I have one with McGonagall at eight o'clock." He stuffed his homework in his bag.

"Ahhh, what am I supposed to do here by myself?" whined Sirius.

"Finish your homework. Talk to Peter. Mess with the girls. I don't care, honestly." Sirius rolled his eyes as James exited the portrait hole. He made his way to McGonagall's classroom, where he was set to write, "_I must use Transfiguration appropriately"_ one hundred times. Harry was riddled with boredom. James may have been his father, but watching someone write lines is almost as tedious as doing them yourself. Finally, James rolled up his parchment and turned it in to McGonagall, said "good night," and left the classroom.

He started up the staircase, but then heard voices. James looked confused; it was almost nine, which meant all students had to be in their Houses, or risk detention. Who was out of bed? James' curiosity seemed to get the better of him and he jumped behind a statue just in time to see none other than Remus Lupin, accompanied by Madame Burton, coming down the steps. Harry saw James' eyes widen. He allowed Lupin and Madame Burton to get a hundred yards ahead of him before following on tip-toe.

He followed them down three more flights of stairs, and, to James' confusion, out the giant oak doors and onto the castle grounds. James hesitated only slightly before following them down the grounds. He hid behind a tree and watched Madame Burton and Lupin stop in front of the Whomping Willow. Madame Burton waved her wand, and the branches stilled. Lupin crept to the trunk, pushed the knot, and disappeared down the tunnel.

James stayed hidden behind the tree until Madame Burton had traipsed up the grounds passed him, and back into the school. The instant the oak doors closed, however, James ran down the lawn at full speed. The tree was still frozen, but James guessed that wouldn't last long. He wasted no time in pushing the knot, and following Remus down the tunnel. Harry's stomach twisted; his father was unprepared for what he was about to find.

**A/N: **Thank you to nwyd, Helen, starlessnight777, Jessluvsharry, and FallingForFootie for your awesome reviews! Especially Helen…girl, that is one of the sweetest things I've ever heard! I will have another update for you guys before Christmas, so you won't have to wait in suspense for long!


	17. Werewolves and Friends

James and Harry made their way down the passageway as quietly as they could. It was eerily quiet—so quiet that Harry was afraid for an instant that his beating heart would give James away, before reminding himself again that he wasn't tangible. After what seemed like forever, James reached the end of the passage and straightened up, brushing off his robes as he did.

"What…are you…doing here?" croaked a voice, and James jumped. His head whipped around, and his eyes fell upon Remus, curled up pathetically on the floor, dripping in sweat.

"Remus." He immediately dropped to his knees next to his friend.

"Get. Out. Now," said Remus, and he sounded as though each word was a struggle.

"What's going on?" James asked, fear in his eyes.

"Didn't I tell. You. To stay. Out. Of. It," Remus gasped.

"Remus…"James looked at his friend with pity and fear. "Are you…dying?"

"No," Remus managed to say. "Worse." He groaned and his whole body shivered. "Leave."

"What can I do?" James said, panicking. "How can I help?"

"_Leave!_" Remus urged, and then he let out a scream so horrible that Harry's toes curled. James jumped back a few feet.

"What's happening?" asked James, his voice cracking in fear.

"James. Get. Out. NOW!" Remus writhed on the floor, and let out an animalistic roar. Harry could see the hair on James' neck stand on end. And speaking of hair…Remus' face and arms were sprouting thick, dark hair at an alarming pace. James jumped up, shock etched in every inch of his face.

"You're…you're a—"

"ROAR!"

His transformation was nearly complete. Remus writhed and screamed as the animal took over him, and James, eyes wide with fear, bolted up the passageway. He ran and Remus' screams became fainter, but no less terrible. He pushed himself out of the passageway and—

SMACK.

It appeared that James had completely forgotten about the Whomping Willow. One of the branches caught him in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him. He sprawled on the ground, coughing, and another branch came down on his back. James came to his senses and rolled out of the way of another incoming branch. He scrambled to his feet and attempted to avoid the rest of the flailing branches, but to little avail. He was shortly knocked back over, and this time, simply covered his face and rolled along the ground, as far away from the tree as he could get. There, he pulled himself into a sitting position, buried his face in his knees, panting hard. It was now so dark out that Harry could barely see him; it was only by the light of the full moon that he could make out his shivering form. James didn't move for several minutes, and Harry didn't know if this was out of fear, shock, or both. It was only when a howl from the general direction of the Willow pierced the night that he jumped up and ran up the entire lawn to the safety of the castle.

It was morning—early morning at that—and James was out of bed. Harry followed his father down the stairs once again, and down to, of all places, the lake, where he approached a boy sitting alone on the bank.

"There you are," said James, sitting down next to the boy, who recoiled slightly. "I've been looking for you for days."

"What do you want?" asked Remus, his voice shaky. The full moon must have been very recent.

"I just wanted to talk to you," said James, putting his hands up as though surrendering, "without you yelling at me to mind my own business. Is that cool?"

Remus didn't answer. James had pushed up the sleeves of his robes, and on his arm were several black bruises. "Your arm…I didn't…?"

"No," James assured him. "You can thank that stupid tree for these." James cracked a smile, but Remus did not. However, he did become visibly relaxed at these words.

"So." He said with a tone of finality. "You know."

"Yeah."

"That's too bad," said Remus sadly, looking around the grounds wistfully. "I really liked this place."  
"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It's not like I can stay here now that my secret's out," said Remus. He kept his eyes fixed ahead of him, on anything but James.

"Your secret isn't out, mate," said James.

"Well, you know, which means you told Sirius, and he can't keep his mouth shut, so he probably has let slip to all of Gryffindor Tower by now and it won't be long before—"

"I didn't tell Sirius," James cut across his friend. For the first time, Remus looked at him.

"You…you didn't?"

James shrugged. "It wasn't my secret to tell." Remus continued to look at James, his expression unchanging. "And I think you need to give Sirius some more credit," James added. "He's loud, but he's not stupid."

"I don't understand," said Remus miserably. "Why don't you hate me?"

"Hate you? Because you're a werewolf?" said James incredulously. "I guess then I'll have to hate Sirius, because his family are in Slytherin, then, and Peter, because—"

"That's not the same," Remus interrupted. "You know that's not the same."

"Well, it is," said James, "because I don't care. About any of it."

"You have every right to be scared of me, and to hate me for what I am," said Remus. "You don't have to be my friend. I would understand."

"You," said James, shaking his head, "are an idiot. C'mon, I'm starving. Let's get some breakfast." He tugged on Remus' robes and pulled him up. Remus looked at him like he was crazy.

"Are you serious?"

"Shut up and let's get back inside," said James, chuckling to himself and starting up the grounds. Remus hesitated, then shook his head as well and followed.

"And I refuse to be called an idiot by someone who followed a werewolf down a dark tunnel."

And James and Remus laughed all the way up to the castle.

"Today," boomed Professor Slughorn, "we will be attempting our most difficult potion yet." He flicked his wand and the words, "Deflating Draught" appeared on the blackboard. He tapped the blackboard, and a piece of chalk began to scrawl instructions on the board. Several students squinted at them, confused.

"As you can see, it is rather complicated," said Slughorn. "So I want all of you to pair up and attempt this potion together."

Everyone in the room scrambled towards their desired partners, and set up their cauldrons. Harry was unsurprised to see James and Sirius settling at a table, with Peter and Remus at the desk next to them. Lily and her friends had paired up similarly, though Harry noticed how reluctant Alice looked to be working with Marlene.

It was almost as if Harry knew what was coming, because when James and Sirius' potion exploded, he wasn't surprised at all. The Gryffindor and Ravenclaw students screamed and hid beneath desks to avoid the half-made Deflating Draught, while Slughorn yelled at everyone to calm down and tried to restore order. When the potion had settled, James and Sirius were the only people still standing, and they were laughing like crazy.

With a sweep of his wand, Slughorn cleared up the mess.

"Detention, boys," said Slughorn simply as the students emerged from underneath the tables. "And as you two appear to be unable to safely work together, I'm assigning you new partners. Potter, you're with Evans, and Sirius, you're with Macdonald. Move. Now."

"Professor!" James and Lily both protested at once. Slughorn held up a hand.

"No 'buts.' Potter, maybe some of Evans' maturity will rub off on you."

Lily scowled, and she grudgingly made room for James at her station.

"Don't touch anything, you walking disaster," said Lily before James could open his mouth.

"You know, you sure talk to me a lot for someone who claims to be ignoring me," James snapped.

"Well _you_ sure mess up a lot for someone who claims to be the best at everything," Lily grumbled. She consulted the instructions on the board without looking at James and carefully diced her caterpillars. "If you shut up and keep your hands off my potion, I'll let you put your name on it at the end, okay?"

James rolled his eyes. "Yes, Princess."

Lily ignored the jibe and turned her attention to her potion while James sat on a stool and stared into space. Sirius and Mary, meanwhile, were having the opposite argument in front of them.

"Aren't you going to help at _all_?" Mary demanded, whacking Sirius's arm. He was currently using his wand to levitate her hair, to Mary's extreme annoyance. "I can't do this thing by myself!"

"This is stupid," was all Sirius said in reply.

"I don't care what you think about it," said Mary exasperatedly, "just cut these roots for me, okay?" Sirius looked affronted. "What now?"

"You don't care what I think?" repeated Sirius in mock-pain. "I'm so insulted, I'm indisposed. In my fragile emotional state, even cutting roots has become too much—OW!"

Mary jabbed him with the wand she was using to light the fire under her cauldron.

After half an hour full of tense silence from two particular tables, the bell finally rang. As Lily and James cleared up their mess and joined their respective groups of friends, Harry could have sworn he heard them both say,

"I hate potions."

"Merlin, can you believe that essay Binns assigned us?" Sirius grumbled as he, Peter, and James traipsed up the steps to their dormitory. "As if it's not bad enough to have to sit in that class for an hour and a half..."

James and Peter laughed, pushing open the door to their room.

"Where's Remus?" asked Peter, looking around. "I thought he decided to sleep through History of Magic."

"He's sick again?" said Sirius. "How am I supposed to copy his homework when he's too busy being sick to do it in the first place?"

"Tough, mate," said James, tossing his bag on his bed.

"We should go check up on him," said Peter. "Bring him something from dinner. They never give you the good food while you're in the Hospital Wing."

"Nah," said James, trying to sound casual. "I think we'd better leave him alone. We wouldn't want to catch what he has."

Sirius and Peter seemed to see his logic and dropped the subject, but Harry thought he knew the real reason he wanted to keep Sirius and Peter away from Remus.

Harry withdrew himself from the memories. As much as he hated to tear himself away from his parents, he really had to use the bathroom. He was just washing his hands when he heard a knock at his door.

"Who is it?" he called.

"It's me," Hermione called back.

"It's open!" said Harry as he quickly tried to straighten up his apartment. He heard the door click and stood up straight as Hermione let herself in.

"What's up?" asked Harry.

"Nothing really," Hermione said, removing her coat and draping it over Harry's couch. "I was just in the neighborhood and I thought I'd drop in. I haven't seen you in a while. No one has."

Of course. This is what the visit was really about.

"If you're here to tell me not to look at the memories anymore, then you can just leave," Harry snapped.

"Harry, you don't have to get so hostile!" said Hermione. "I'm only trying to help."

"Why is everyone so determined to keep me from my parents?" he demanded.

"Harry, shut up or I'm going to put a Silencing Charm on you," said Hermione exasperatedly, whipping out her wand, and Harry, fully aware of what that wand could do, promptly shut his mouth.

"No one is trying to keep you from looking at your parents' memories," Hermione explained gently.

"They've got a funny way of—all right, all right!" Harry began to grumble, but when Hermione brandished her wand again, he stopped talking.

"As I was saying, no one wants to stop you from looking at your parents' memories. Everyone is just worried that you're getting lost in them," Hermione resumed. "And don't protest, you know it's true. You're obsessed. You disappear into them for days at a time. Everyone is worried. Ginny is just worried."

"I don't want to talk about Ginny," Harry muttered.

"You're not even allowed to talk, remember? Just listen. Ron told me about your fight, and you two are the most stubborn people I have ever met in my life. Ginny isn't trying to stop you from looking in the Pensieve. She just wants to see you, too. That's why she's worried."

Harry was beginning to feel guilt seeping through his veins. Had he really been so hotheaded to yell at Ginny over nothing?

"I guess I should talk to her," he said grudgingly.

"That sounds good," Hermione told him. She sat down on his couch and Harry followed suit. "So what are those memories like, anyways?"

"I'm watching their second year at Hogwarts right now," said Harry. He was torn between a desire to talk about all he had seen and wanting to keep it all to himself. "My dad just found out that Lupin is a werewolf."

"How did he find out?" asked Hermione curiously. Harry hesitated, and then decided it would do no harm to answer her.

"He followed him down the tunnel leading to the Shrieking Shack one night and watched him transform," said Harry. Hermione gasped, her eyes wide.

"He did not," she said in disbelief. "Lupin never mentioned that." Harry privately thought that Lupin didn't mention a lot of things, but said nothing. "He didn't get hurt, did he?"

"Not really," said Harry, "although he did get beaten up by the Whomping Willow."

He was surprising himself at how easy it was to discuss his parents' lives with his friends. He thought he wanted to keep it all to himself, but he reminded herself that Hermione knew Lupin, Sirius, Snape, and Peter, too, and wondered about their pasts.

"How's your mom?" Hermione wanted to know.

"Fine," said Harry. "She reminds me a bit of you, actually. She takes her studies so seriously. And she's a bit like Ginny, too. She has a temper." Hermione laughed.

"Too true," she agreed. "How are your parents getting along?"

Harry hesitated again. He had never told any of his friends about the scene he saw in the Pensieve, back in their fifth year. None of his friends had any idea that his parents once hated each other with a passion, and he didn't feel comfortable disclosing that information quite yet.

"Fine," he said vaguely. "I mean, they're twelve, so not much is going on, but they're good."

"It must be so fascinating," gushed Hermione. "I wish I could watch my parent's childhood. Although, I'm sure it wouldn't be as interesting, seeing as they ended up as dentists." Harry laughed at that.

"So are you going to talk to Ginny?" Hermione asked, changing the subject abruptly, and Harry sighed.

"Yeah," he said, sounding resigned. "Yeah, I'll go over there tomorrow."

"Good," said Hermione, smiling.

Hermione ended up staying for dinner. She was right, Harry had to admit; it really had been a long time since he had seen his friends, and he missed them. No matter how enticing his parents were, he knew he could never interact with them, and nothing could compare to dinner with old friends. Not even his father's memory.

**A/N:** THANK YOU for all of your wonderful reviews! Please, please, please tell me what you think of this chapter. Reviews keep me motivated :] I miss all of you! Thank you to FallingForFootie, starlessnight777, summersrain, and jessluvsharry! Y'all are amazin! Also, check out my new story, "The Muggle-Born Protection Act." It's another L/J story, and I think you will enjoy it. Anyways, I hope you all have a very happy holiday season, and I'll be back with another update soon!

-Dem


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